# CVE-2022-49079: btrfs: zoned: traverse devices under chunk_mutex in btrfs_can_activate_zone > A deadlock in the Linux kernel's btrfs filesystem can cause a denial of service when specific device operations occur. - **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:** 26 Feb 2025 - **Updated:** 11 May 2026 - **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49079, GHSA-mvc3-4q88-q347, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49079 ## What is CVE-2022-49079? CVE-2022-49079 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 Feb 2025. 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: zoned: traverse devices under chunk_mutex in btrfs_can_activate_zone btrfs_can_activate_zone() can be called with the device_list_mutex already held, which will lead to a deadlock: insert_dev_extents() // Takes device_list_mutex `-> insert_dev_extent() `-> btrfs_insert_empty_item() `-> btrfs_insert_empty_items() `-> btrfs_search_slot() `-> btrfs_cow_block() `-> __btrfs_cow_block() `-> btrfs_alloc_tree_block() `-> btrfs_reserve_extent() `-> find_free_extent() `-> find_free_extent_update_loop() `-> can_allocate_chunk() `-> btrfs_can_activate_zone() // Takes device_list_mutex again Instead of using the RCU on fs_devices->device_list we can use fs_devices->alloc_list, protected by the chunk_mutex to traverse the list of active devices. We are in the chunk allocation thread. The newer chunk allocation happens from the devices in the fs_device->alloc_list protected by the chunk_mutex. btrfs_create_chunk() lockdep_assert_held(&info->chunk_mutex); gather_device_info list_for_each_entry(device, &fs_devices->alloc_list, dev_alloc_list) Also, a device that reappears after the mount won't join the alloc_list yet and, it will be in the dev_list, which we don't want to consider in the context of the chunk alloc. [15.166572] WARNING: possible recursive locking detected [15.167117] 5.17.0-rc6-dennis #79 Not tainted [15.167487] -------------------------------------------- [15.167733] kworker/u8:3/146 is trying to acquire lock: [15.167733] ffff888102962ee0 (&fs_devs->device_list_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: find_free_extent+0x15a/0x14f0 [btrfs] [15.167733] [15.167733] but task is already holding lock: [15.167733] ffff888102962ee0 (&fs_devs->device_list_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: btrfs_create_pending_block_groups+0x20a/0x560 [btrfs] [15.167733] [15.167733] other info that might help us debug this: [15.167733] Possible unsafe locking scenario: [15.167733] [15.171834] CPU0 [15.171834] ---- [15.171834] lock(&fs_devs->device_list_mutex); [15.171834] lock(&fs_devs->device_list_mutex); [15.171834] [15.171834] *** DEADLOCK *** [15.171834] [15.171834] May be due to missing lock nesting notation [15.171834] [15.171834] 5 locks held by kworker/u8:3/146: [15.171834] #0: ffff888100050938 ((wq_completion)events_unbound){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work+0x1c3/0x5a0 [15.171834] #1: ffffc9000067be80 ((work_completion)(&fs_info->async_data_reclaim_work)){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work+0x1c3/0x5a0 [15.176244] #2: ffff88810521e620 (sb_internal){.+.+}-{0:0}, at: flush_space+0x335/0x600 [btrfs] [15.176244] #3: ffff888102962ee0 (&fs_devs->device_list_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: btrfs_create_pending_block_groups+0x20a/0x560 [btrfs] [15.176244] #4: ffff8881152e4b78 (btrfs-dev-00){++++}-{3:3}, at: __btrfs_tree_lock+0x27/0x130 [btrfs] [15.179641] [15.179641] stack backtrace: [15.179641] CPU: 1 PID: 146 Comm: kworker/u8:3 Not tainted 5.17.0-rc6-dennis #79 [15.179641] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.15.0-1.fc35 04/01/2014 [15.179641] Workqueue: events_unbound btrfs_async_reclaim_data_space [btrfs] [15.179641] Call Trace: [15.179641] [15.179641] dump_stack_lvl+0x45/0x59 [15.179641] __lock_acquire.cold+0x217/0x2b2 [15.179641] lock_acquire+0xbf/0x2b0 [15.183838] ? find_free_extent+0x15a/0x14f0 [btrfs] [15.183838] __mutex_lock+0x8e/0x970 [15.183838] ? find_free_extent+0x15a/0x14f0 [btrfs] [15.183838] ? find_free_extent+0x15a/0x14f0 [btrfs] [15.183838] ? lock_is_held_type+0xd7/0x130 [15.183838] ? find_free_extent+0x15a/0x14f0 [btrfs] [15.183838] find_free_extent+0x15a/0x14f0 [btrfs] [15.183838] ? _raw_spin_unlock+0x24/0x40 [15.183838] ? btrfs_get_alloc_profile+0x106/0x230 [btrfs] [15.187601] btrfs_reserve_extent+0x131/0x260 [btrfs] [15. ---truncated--- Weakness: CWE-667 (Improper Locking) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49079? It affects 1 product. Products: Linux kernel. ## How do I fix CVE-2022-49079? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2022-49079 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49079 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-2022-49079 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2022-49079 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 Feb 2025. 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-2022-49079 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-2022-49079/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49079/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49079 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49079 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49079 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49079/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.