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NVD / CVE Program· CNA Linux

CVE-2023-53339: btrfs: fix BUG_ON condition in btrfs_cancel_balance

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 22/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.20% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: Linux Linux 29eefa6d0d07e185f7bfe9576f91e6dba98189c2, 6.1.47, 6.4.12.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to Linux Linux 29eefa6d0d07e185f7bfe9576f91e6dba98189c2, 6.1.47, 6.4.12 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix BUG_ON condition in btrfs_cancel_balance Pausing and canceling balance can race to interrupt balance lead to BUG_ON panic in btrfs_cancel_balance. The BUG_ON condition in btrfs_cancel_balance does not take this race scenario into account. However, the race condition has no other side effects. We can fix that. Reproducing it with panic trace like this: kernel BUG at fs/btrfs/volumes.c:4618! RIP: 0010:btrfs_cancel_balance+0x5cf/0x6a0 Call Trace: <TASK> ? do_nanosleep+0x60/0x120 ? hrtimer_nanosleep+0xb7/0x1a0 ? sched_core_clone_cookie+0x70/0x70 btrfs_ioctl_balance_ctl+0x55/0x70 btrfs_ioctl+0xa46/0xd20 __x64_sys_ioctl+0x7d/0xa0 do_syscall_64+0x38/0x80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd Race scenario as follows: > mutex_unlock(&fs_info->balance_mutex); > -------------------- > .......issue pause and cancel req in another thread > -------------------- > ret = __btrfs_balance(fs_info); > > mutex_lock(&fs_info->balance_mutex); > if (ret == -ECANCELED && atomic_read(&fs_info->balance_pause_req)) { > btrfs_info(fs_info, "balance: paused"); > btrfs_exclop_balance(fs_info, BTRFS_EXCLOP_BALANCE_PAUSED); > }

MediumCVSS 5.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Sep 17, 2025
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
0.2% · 10th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

22

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
22 / 40 · 5.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.2%

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  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

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  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
linuxlinux kernel

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • linux linux kernelbefore 4.19.293
  • linux linux kernel4.20 and later · before 5.4.255
  • linux linux kernel5.5 and later · before 5.10.192
  • linux linux kernel5.11 and later · before 5.15.128
  • linux linux kernel5.16 and later · before 6.1.47
  • linux linux kernel6.2 and later · before 6.4.12
  • linux linux kernel6.5

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Linux). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Linux Linux

    • ddf7e8984c83aee9122552529f4e77291903f8d9 and later · before ceb9ba8e30833a4823e2dc73f80ebcdf2498d01aaffected · git
    • 72efe5d44821e38540888a5fe3ff3d0faab6acad and later · before ae81329f7de3aa6f34ecdfa5412e72161a30e9ceaffected · git
    • b19c98f237cd76981aaded52c258ce93f7daa8cb and later · before 29eefa6d0d07e185f7bfe9576f91e6dba98189c2affected · git
    • 6.1.42 and later · before 6.1.47affected · semver
    • 6.4.7 and later · before 6.4.12affected · semver

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12linuxbefore 6.1.52-16.1.52-1
Debian:13linuxbefore 6.4.13-16.4.13-1

Same product

linux: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-31431crypto: algif_aead - Revert to operating out-of-placeKEV
    90Now
  • CVE-2022-0847A flaw was found in the way the "flags" member of the new pipe buffer structure was lacking proper initialization in copy_page_to_iter_pipe KEV
    89Now
  • CVE-2021-22555Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACEKEV
    85Now

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-53337Sep 17, 2025 · nilfs2: do not write dirty data after degenerating to read-only
    22Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-53338Sep 17, 2025 · lwt: Fix return values of BPF xmit ops
    31Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2023-53340Sep 17, 2025 · net/mlx5: Collect command failures data only for known commands
    31Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Linux Linux29eefa6d0d07e185f7bfe9576f91e6dba98189c2Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux6.1.47Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux6.4.12Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxae81329f7de3aa6f34ecdfa5412e72161a30e9ceVendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxceb9ba8e30833a4823e2dc73f80ebcdf2498d01aVendor (CNA)
debian:linux6.1.52-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

  • CVE-2026-31739226 days apartcrypto: tegra - Add missing CRYPTO_ALG_ASYNC
    35Monitor
  • CVE-2026-52952280 days apartiommu: Fix WARN_ON in __iommu_group_set_domain_nofail() due to reset
    35Monitor
  • CVE-2025-398032 days apartscsi: ufs: core: Remove WARN_ON_ONCE() call from ufshcd_uic_cmd_compl()
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2026-31398198 days apartmm/rmap: fix incorrect pte restoration for lazyfree folios
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2026-46117253 days apartRDMA/mana: Remove user triggerable WARN_ON() in mana_ib_create_qp_rss()
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2023-52621540 days apartbpf: Check rcu_read_lock_trace_held() before calling bpf map helpers
    31Monitor

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
none
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-617 · Reachable Assertion

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (2 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records