Linux Kernel up to 6.12.57/6.17.7/6.18-rc4 btrfs_add_qgroup_relation return value

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.57/6.17.7/6.18-rc4 and classified as critical. This affects the function btrfs_add_qgroup_relation. The manipulation leads to return value. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2025-40209. There is no available exploit. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.57/6.17.7/6.18-rc4 and classified as critical. This issue affects the function btrfs_add_qgroup_relation. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a return value vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-252. The product does not check the return value from a method or function, which can prevent it from detecting unexpected states and conditions. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix memory leak of qgroup_list in btrfs_add_qgroup_relation When btrfs_add_qgroup_relation() is called with invalid qgroup levels (src >= dst), the function returns -EINVAL directly without freeing the preallocated qgroup_list structure passed by the caller. This causes a memory leak because the caller unconditionally sets the pointer to NULL after the call, preventing any cleanup. The issue occurs because the level validation check happens before the mutex is acquired and before any error handling path that would free the prealloc pointer. On this early return, the cleanup code at the 'out' label (which includes kfree(prealloc)) is never reached. In btrfs_ioctl_qgroup_assign(), the code pattern is: prealloc = kzalloc(sizeof(*prealloc), GFP_KERNEL); ret = btrfs_add_qgroup_relation(trans, sa->src, sa->dst, prealloc); prealloc = NULL; // Always set to NULL regardless of return value ... kfree(prealloc); // This becomes kfree(NULL), does nothing When the level check fails, 'prealloc' is never freed by either the callee or the caller, resulting in a 64-byte memory leak per failed operation. This can be triggered repeatedly by an unprivileged user with access to a writable btrfs mount, potentially exhausting kernel memory. Fix this by freeing prealloc before the early return, ensuring prealloc is always freed on all error paths.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-40209 since 04/16/2025. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 05/19/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 276580 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-40209), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.58, 6.17.8 or 6.18-rc5 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 3412d0e973e8f8381747d69033eda809a57a2581/a4d9ebe23bcb79d9d057e3c995db73b7b3aae414/f260c6aff0b8af236084012d14f9f1bf792ea883 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (276580) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2658). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.12.34
• 6.12.35
• 6.12.36
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.12.39
• 6.12.40
• 6.12.41
• 6.12.42
• 6.12.43
• 6.12.44
• 6.12.45
• 6.12.46
• 6.12.47
• 6.12.48
• 6.12.49
• 6.12.50
• 6.12.51
• 6.12.52
• 6.12.53
• 6.12.54
• 6.12.55
• 6.12.56
• 6.12.57
• 6.17.0
• 6.17.1
• 6.17.2
• 6.17.3
• 6.17.4
• 6.17.5
• 6.17.6
• 6.17.7
• 6.18-rc1
• 6.18-rc2
• 6.18-rc3
• 6.18-rc4

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Discussion