# CVE-2024-26726: btrfs: don't drop extent_map for free space inode on write error

> A local attacker can trigger a kernel panic in the Btrfs filesystem by causing a write error on the free space cache, leading to a denial of service.

- **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:** 3 Apr 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-26726, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-26726, GHSA-798v-p58f-mw7j, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2024-26726, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2024-26726, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-26726

## What is CVE-2024-26726?

CVE-2024-26726 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 3 Apr 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: don't drop extent_map for free space inode on write error

While running the CI for an unrelated change I hit the following panic
with generic/648 on btrfs_holes_spacecache.

assertion failed: block_start != EXTENT_MAP_HOLE, in fs/btrfs/extent_io.c:1385
------------[ cut here ]------------
kernel BUG at fs/btrfs/extent_io.c:1385!
invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI
CPU: 1 PID: 2695096 Comm: fsstress Kdump: loaded Tainted: G        W          6.8.0-rc2+ #1
RIP: 0010:__extent_writepage_io.constprop.0+0x4c1/0x5c0
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 extent_write_cache_pages+0x2ac/0x8f0
 extent_writepages+0x87/0x110
 do_writepages+0xd5/0x1f0
 filemap_fdatawrite_wbc+0x63/0x90
 __filemap_fdatawrite_range+0x5c/0x80
 btrfs_fdatawrite_range+0x1f/0x50
 btrfs_write_out_cache+0x507/0x560
 btrfs_write_dirty_block_groups+0x32a/0x420
 commit_cowonly_roots+0x21b/0x290
 btrfs_commit_transaction+0x813/0x1360
 btrfs_sync_file+0x51a/0x640
 __x64_sys_fdatasync+0x52/0x90
 do_syscall_64+0x9c/0x190
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0x76

This happens because we fail to write out the free space cache in one
instance, come back around and attempt to write it again.  However on
the second pass through we go to call btrfs_get_extent() on the inode to
get the extent mapping.  Because this is a new block group, and with the
free space inode we always search the commit root to avoid deadlocking
with the tree, we find nothing and return a EXTENT_MAP_HOLE for the
requested range.

This happens because the first time we try to write the space cache out
we hit an error, and on an error we drop the extent mapping.  This is
normal for normal files, but the free space cache inode is special.  We
always expect the extent map to be correct.  Thus the second time
through we end up with a bogus extent map.

Since we're deprecating this feature, the most straightforward way to
fix this is to simply skip dropping the extent map range for this failed
range.

I shortened the test by using error injection to stress the area to make
it easier to reproduce.  With this patch in place we no longer panic
with my error injection test.

Weakness: CWE-617 (Reachable Assertion)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-26726?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-26726?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-26726 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-26726 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-2024-26726 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-26726 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 3 Apr 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-2024-26726 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-2024-26726/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-26726/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-26726
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-26726
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-26726

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-26726/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.