Memory Access Issue in Linux Kernel's Btrfs Affects Performance

CVE-2025-38382

What is CVE-2025-38382?

A memory access vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Btrfs file system can lead to system instability due to improper handling of extrefs during log replay. Specifically, the issue arises in the __inode_add_ref() function where an undefined value for victim_name.len may result from a goto statement. This can trigger invalid memory access in subsequent iterations, negatively impacting performance. The vulnerability has been addressed by initializing victim_name.len with the current extref's name length, which prevents these unintended memory accesses and enhances stability.

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