# CVE-2025-38269: btrfs: exit after state insertion failure at btrfs_convert_extent_bit()

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel btrfs filesystem can cause a crash if CONFIG_BUG is disabled, leading to 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:** 10 Jul 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-65004, AZL-70651, BELL-CVE-2025-38269, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38269, GHSA-7rq4-pc5w-9jq7, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2025-38269, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-38269, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2025-38269, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-38269, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38269

## What is CVE-2025-38269?

CVE-2025-38269 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 10 Jul 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: exit after state insertion failure at btrfs_convert_extent_bit()

If insert_state() state failed it returns an error pointer and we call
extent_io_tree_panic() which will trigger a BUG() call. However if
CONFIG_BUG is disabled, which is an uncommon and exotic scenario, then
we fallthrough and call cache_state() which will dereference the error
pointer, resulting in an invalid memory access.

So jump to the 'out' label after calling extent_io_tree_panic(), it also
makes the code more clear besides dealing with the exotic scenario where
CONFIG_BUG is disabled.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38269?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-38269?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-38269 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38269 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-2025-38269 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-38269 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 10 Jul 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-2025-38269 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-2025-38269/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38269/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38269
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38269
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38269

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38269/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.