# CVE-2021-47585: btrfs: fix memory leak in __add_inode_ref()

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel's btrfs filesystem allows attackers to cause denial of service by exhausting system memory.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 19 Jun 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47585, GHSA-5mvf-mw2h-9f35, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47585

## What is CVE-2021-47585?

CVE-2021-47585 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jun 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

btrfs: fix memory leak in __add_inode_ref()

Line 1169 (#3) allocates a memory chunk for victim_name by kmalloc(),
but  when the function returns in line 1184 (#4) victim_name allocated
by line 1169 (#3) is not freed, which will lead to a memory leak.
There is a similar snippet of code in this function as allocating a memory
chunk for victim_name in line 1104 (#1) as well as releasing the memory
in line 1116 (#2).

We should kfree() victim_name when the return value of backref_in_log()
is less than zero and before the function returns in line 1184 (#4).

1057 static inline int __add_inode_ref(struct btrfs_trans_handle *trans,
1058 				  struct btrfs_root *root,
1059 				  struct btrfs_path *path,
1060 				  struct btrfs_root *log_root,
1061 				  struct btrfs_inode *dir,
1062 				  struct btrfs_inode *inode,
1063 				  u64 inode_objectid, u64 parent_objectid,
1064 				  u64 ref_index, char *name, int namelen,
1065 				  int *search_done)
1066 {

1104 	victim_name = kmalloc(victim_name_len, GFP_NOFS);
	// #1: kmalloc (victim_name-1)
1105 	if (!victim_name)
1106 		return -ENOMEM;

1112	ret = backref_in_log(log_root, &search_key,
1113			parent_objectid, victim_name,
1114			victim_name_len);
1115	if (ret < 0) {
1116		kfree(victim_name); // #2: kfree (victim_name-1)
1117		return ret;
1118	} else if (!ret) {

1169 	victim_name = kmalloc(victim_name_len, GFP_NOFS);
	// #3: kmalloc (victim_name-2)
1170 	if (!victim_name)
1171 		return -ENOMEM;

1180 	ret = backref_in_log(log_root, &search_key,
1181 			parent_objectid, victim_name,
1182 			victim_name_len);
1183 	if (ret < 0) {
1184 		return ret; // #4: missing kfree (victim_name-2)
1185 	} else if (!ret) {

1241 	return 0;
1242 }

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47585?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47585?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47585 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47585 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-47585 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47585 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jun 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47585 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47585/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47585/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47585
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47585
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47585

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47585/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.