# CVE-2026-93800: btrfs: fix use-after-free on reloc root after error in insert_dirty_subvol() > A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Btrfs filesystem allows local attackers to cause a denial of service or potentially execute code during filesystem unmount. - **Severity:** Not scored - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Not needed - **Attackable:** Local or same network only - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 24 Sep 2026 - **Updated:** 3 Oct 2026 - **Also known as:** AZL-103991, BELL-CVE-2026-93800, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-93800, GHSA-wpw6-8cm9-72wv, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-93800 ## What is CVE-2026-93800? CVE-2026-93800 is an use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Sep 2026. 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 use-after-free on reloc root after error in insert_dirty_subvol() If during relocation we fail in insert_dirty_subvol() because btrfs_update_reloc_root() returned an error, we will leave a root's reloc_root field pointing to a reloc root that was freed instead of NULL, resulting later in a use-after-free, or double free attempt during unmount. The sequence of steps is this: 1) During relocation the call to btrfs_update_reloc_root() in insert_dirty_subvol() fails, so insert_dirty_subvol() returns the error to merge_reloc_root() without adding the root to the list rc->dirty_subvol_roots; 2) Then merge_reloc_root() aborts the current transaction because insert_dirty_subvol() returned an error; 3) Up the call chain, merge_reloc_roots() gets the error, adds the reloc root for root X to the local reloc_roots list and jumps to the 'out' label, where it calls free_reloc_roots() to free all the reloc roots in the local reloc_roots list. This frees the reloc root for root X; 4) We go up the call chain to relocate_block_group() which calls clean_dirty_subvols() to go over dirty roots and set their ->reloc_root field to NULL, but root X is not in the dirty_subvol_roots list, so its ->reloc_root still points to a reloc root; 5) Relocation finishes, with an error and a transaction abort, but the ->reloc_root field for root X still points to the reloc root that was freed in step 3; 6) When unmounting the fs we end up calling: btrfs_free_fs_roots() btrfs_drop_and_free_fs_root() --> calls btrfs_put_root() against root X's ->reloc_root which is not NULL and points to the already freed reloc root in step 4 above Resulting in a use-after-free to a double free attempt. Syzbot reported this with the following dmesg/syslog: [ 106.004389][ T5339] BTRFS error (device loop0 state A): Transaction aborted (error -5) [ 106.014266][ T5339] BTRFS: error (device loop0 state A) in merge_reloc_root:1655: errno=-5 IO failure [ 106.021891][ T1061] BTRFS error (device loop0 state A): error while writing out transaction: -5 [ 106.026964][ T1061] BTRFS warning (device loop0 state A): Skipping commit of aborted transaction. [ 106.033807][ T5340] BTRFS error (device loop0 state A): bdev /dev/loop0 errs: wr 3, rd 0, flush 0, corrupt 0, gen 0 [ 106.039265][ T1061] BTRFS: error (device loop0 state A) in cleanup_transaction:2067: errno=-5 IO failure [ 106.044382][ T5339] BTRFS info (device loop0 state EA): forced readonly [ 106.074329][ T5339] BTRFS: error (device loop0 state EA) in merge_reloc_roots:1887: errno=-5 IO failure [ 106.081004][ T5356] BTRFS info (device loop0 state EA): scrub: started on devid 1 [ 106.085611][ T5339] BTRFS info (device loop0 state EA): balance: ended with status: -30 [ 106.089517][ T5356] BTRFS info (device loop0 state EA): scrub: not finished on devid 1 with status: -30 [ 106.662365][ T5338] BTRFS info (device loop0 state EA): last unmount of filesystem 3a375e4e-b156-4d76-a2ad-16e198ce1409 [ 106.682946][ T5338] ================================================================== [ 106.686574][ T5338] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in btrfs_put_root+0x2f/0x250 [ 106.690090][ T5338] Write of size 4 at addr ffff88803f978630 by task syz.0.0/5338 [ 106.693173][ T5338] [ 106.694279][ T5338] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 5338 Comm: syz.0.0 Not tainted syzkaller #0 PREEMPT(full) [ 106.694293][ T5338] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 [ 106.694300][ T5338] Call Trace: [ 106.694308][ T5338] [ 106.694314][ T5338] dump_stack_lvl+0xe8/0x150 [ 106.694331][ T5338] print_address_description+0x55/0x1e0 [ 106.694343][ T5338] ? btrfs_put_root+0x2f/0x250 [ 106.694358][ T5338] print_report+0x58/0x70 [ 106. ---truncated--- ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-93800? ## How do I fix CVE-2026-93800? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2026-93800 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-93800 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2026-93800 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2026-93800 is an use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Sep 2026. 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-2026-93800 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-93800/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-93800/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-93800 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-93800 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-93800 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-93800/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.