Back to the CVE list
CVE-2025-38365

btrfs: fix a race between renames and directory logging

CVSS score

9.1

EPSS probability

%0.3

Risk score

0.0

Published

1 y ago

Official patch verified

Etkilenen ürün ve sürüm için yayımlanan güvenlik güncellemesini uygulayın.

Impact on My Inventory

Only the personal products you have added to your account are assessed; an organisation's inventory does not appear here.

Checking session…

Vulnerability description

DayBreach CVE AI Research

CVE-2025-38365 has vendor, distribution, patch and security-source records on file. We can compare them and prepare an explanation linked to the evidence.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix a race between renames and directory logging We have a race between a rename and directory inode logging that if it happens and we crash/power fail before the rename completes, the next time the filesystem is mounted, the log replay code will end up deleting the file that was being renamed. This is best explained following a step by step analysis of an interleaving of steps that lead into this situation. Consider the initial conditions: 1) We are at transaction N; 2) We have directories A and B created in a past transaction (< N); 3) We have inode X corresponding to a file that has 2 hardlinks, one in directory A and the other in directory B, so we'll name them as "A/foo_link1" and "B/foo_link2". Both hard links were persisted in a past transaction (< N); 4) We have inode Y corresponding to a file that as a single hard link and is located in directory A, we'll name it as "A/bar". This file was also persisted in a past transaction (< N). The steps leading to a file loss are the following and for all of them we are under transaction N: 1) Link "A/foo_link1" is removed, so inode's X last_unlink_trans field is updated to N, through btrfs_unlink() -> btrfs_record_unlink_dir(); 2) Task A starts a rename for inode Y, with the goal of renaming from "A/bar" to "A/baz", so we enter btrfs_rename(); 3) Task A inserts the new BTRFS_INODE_REF_KEY for inode Y by calling btrfs_insert_inode_ref(); 4) Because the rename happens in the same directory, we don't set the last_unlink_trans field of directoty A's inode to the current transaction id, that is, we don't cal btrfs_record_unlink_dir(); 5) Task A then removes the entries from directory A (BTRFS_DIR_ITEM_KEY and BTRFS_DIR_INDEX_KEY items) when calling __btrfs_unlink_inode() (actually the dir index item is added as a delayed item, but the effect is the same); 6) Now before task A adds the new entry "A/baz" to directory A by calling btrfs_add_link(), another task, task B is logging inode X; 7) Task B starts a fsync of inode X and after logging inode X, at btrfs_log_inode_parent() it calls btrfs_log_all_parents(), since inode X has a last_unlink_trans value of N, set at in step 1; 8) At btrfs_log_all_parents() we search for all parent directories of inode X using the commit root, so we find directories A and B and log them. Bu when logging direct A, we don't have a dir index item for inode Y anymore, neither the old name "A/bar" nor for the new name "A/baz" since the rename has deleted the old name but has not yet inserted the new name - task A hasn't called yet btrfs_add_link() to do that. Note that logging directory A doesn't fallback to a transaction commit because its last_unlink_trans has a lower value than the current transaction's id (see step 4); 9) Task B finishes logging directories A and B and gets back to btrfs_sync_file() where it calls btrfs_sync_log() to persist the log tree; 10) Task B successfully persisted the log tree, btrfs_sync_log() completed with success, and a power failure happened. We have a log tree without any directory entry for inode Y, so the log replay code deletes the entry for inode Y, name "A/bar", from the subvolume tree since it doesn't exist in the log tree and the log tree is authorative for its index (we logged a BTRFS_DIR_LOG_INDEX_KEY item that covers the index range for the dentry that corresponds to "A/bar"). Since there's no other hard link for inode Y and the log replay code deletes the name "A/bar", the file is lost. The issue wouldn't happen if task B synced the log only after task A called btrfs_log_new_name(), which would update the log with the new name for inode Y ("A/bar"). Fix this by pinning the log root during renames before removing the old directory entry, and unpinning af ---truncated---

IMPACT: Affected Products and Software

Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2025-38365 vulnerability. Where our threat engine knows the exact affected versions, they are listed below.

IDVENDORPRODUCTACTION
1linuxLinux View
2linuxLinux View
3linuxlinux kernel View
4linuxlinux kernel View
5linuxlinux kernel View
6linuxlinux kernel View
7linuxlinux kernel View
8debiandebian linux View
Total affected vendors: 2|Products: 8

RED HAT CSAF/VEX: Product Impact Check

Red Hat has not yet published a CSAF/VEX impact record for this CVE. This does not mean “not affected”.

SCORING: CVSS from Multiple Sources

CVSS Scores

The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardised framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and display CVSS scores from several sources for each CVE.

SCOREVERSIONSEVERITYVECTORSOURCE
9.1CVSS V31CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:HNVD
9.1CVSS V3_1CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:HCVE CNA
4.7CVSS V31MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HNVD

Patch and Remediation Guide

Solution & Remediation Advisory

Patch verified

5 doğrulanmış yama veya düzeltilmiş sürüm kanıtı bulundu.

nvd

NVD tarafından Patch olarak etiketlenmiş referans

Open source
nvd

NVD tarafından Patch olarak etiketlenmiş referans

Open source
nvd

NVD tarafından Patch olarak etiketlenmiş referans

Open source
nvd

NVD tarafından Patch olarak etiketlenmiş referans

Open source
nvd

NVD tarafından Patch olarak etiketlenmiş referans

Open source
Confirm the affected product and version against the source evidence above.
Restrict access to internet-facing services and apply network segmentation.
Apply the official update named in the evidence only to the matching product and version.
Monitor server logs and network endpoints for signs of anomalous execution.

Public exploit and active exploitation status

Verified exploit intelligence

No verified public PoC, exploit repository or Metasploit module has been found for this CVE yet.

Weakness Classification and Attack Patterns (CWE & CAPEC)

CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorises the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2025-38365 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2025-38365 weaknesses.

Attack Vector and Accessibility

ExposureAğ üzerinden
PermissionsGerekmiyor
UserGerekmiyor

Official Sources and Advisories

CVSS Vector Radar Chart

9.1 / 10
Attack VectorNetworkComplexityLowPrivilegesNoneUser Interact.NoneConfidentialityLowIntegrityNoneAvailabilityHigh

Vulnerability Scoring Details

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredNone required
User InteractionNone required
Confidentiality (Gizlilik)Low
Integrity (Bütünlük)None
Availability (Erişilebilirlik)High

Yama doğrulandı

5 doğrulanmış yama veya düzeltilmiş sürüm kanıtı bulundu.

Follow the vendor

L
linux logo
linux
D
debian logo
debian

Weakness Type (CWE & CAPEC)

Similar Vulnerabilities

Get this vulnerability through the API

Affected products, version ranges, exploitation status and patch information in a single request, with a free key.

curl -H "x-api-key: $DAYBREACH_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.daybreach.dev/api/v1/intel/cves/CVE-2025-38365"