CVE-2024-56759

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

btrfs: fix use-after-free when COWing tree bock and tracing is enabled

When a COWing a tree block, at btrfs_cow_block(), and we have the tracepoint trace_btrfs_cow_block() enabled and preemption is also enabled (CONFIG_PREEMPT=y), we can trigger a use-after-free in the COWed extent buffer while inside the tracepoint code. This is because in some paths that call btrfs_cow_block(), such as btrfs_search_slot(), we are holding the last reference on the extent buffer @buf so btrfs_force_cow_block() drops the last reference on the @buf extent buffer when it calls free_extent_buffer_stale(buf), which schedules the release of the extent buffer with RCU. This means that if we are on a kernel with preemption, the current task may be preempted before calling trace_btrfs_cow_block() and the extent buffer already released by the time trace_btrfs_cow_block() is called, resulting in a use-after-free.

Fix this by moving the trace_btrfs_cow_block() from btrfs_cow_block() to btrfs_force_cow_block() before the COWed extent buffer is freed. This also has a side effect of invoking the tracepoint in the tree defrag code, at defrag.c:btrfs_realloc_node(), since btrfs_force_cow_block() is called there, but this is fine and it was actually missing there.

Weakness

The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory “belongs” to the code that operates on the new pointer.

Affected Software

Potential Mitigations

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/44f52bbe96dfdbe4aca3818a2534520082a07040
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/526ff5b27f090fb15040471f892cd2c9899ce314
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/66376f1a73cba57fd0af2631d7888605b738e499
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9a466b8693b9add05de99af00c7bdff8259ecf19
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba5120a2fb5f23b4d39d302e181aa5d4e28a90d1
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c3a403d8ce36f5a809a492581de5ad17843e4701
• https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/03/msg00001.html
• https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/03/msg00002.html