High [CVE-2026-68442] don't propagate EXTENT_FLAG_LOGGING to split extent maps
This high-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-68442 affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux for NVIDIA 26, Red Hat package: kernel.
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Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: don't propagate EXTENT_FLAG_LOGGING to split extent maps When btrfs_drop_extent_map_range() splits an extent map, the new split maps inherit the original map's flags through a local 'flags' variable.
Commit f86f7a75e2fb ("btrfs: use the flags of an extent map to identify the compression type") changed the EXTENT_FLAG_LOGGING clearing to operate on em->flags instead of that local 'flags' copy, so a split of an extent map that is currently being logged wrongly inherits EXTENT_FLAG_LOGGING.
The flag is then never cleared on the split, and when it is freed while still on the inode's modified_extents list (for example by the extent map shrinker) it trips the WARN_ON(!list_empty(&em->list)) in btrfs_free_extent_map() and leads to a use-after-free.
Clear EXTENT_FLAG_LOGGING from the local 'flags' copy used for the splits and only clear EXTENT_FLAG_PINNED from em->flags, restoring the behaviour prior to f86f7a75e2fb. A flaw was found in the btrfs filesystem component of the Linux kernel.
This issue occurs because the flag clearing operation was applied to the wrong variable during the splitting process. Consequently, if a split extent map with this flag is freed while still in use, it can lead to a use-after-free vulnerability, potentially causing system instability or a denial of service.
Affected versions
No affected-version range was extracted from the source record. The vendor advisory is authoritative — check it before change work.
Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 2 hours ago·verify at source
Fixed versions
No fixed release is recorded yet. That does not prove no patch exists — confirm against the vendor advisory.
Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 2 hours ago·verify at source
Mitigation
The source record does not include mitigation steps. That is not a statement that no fix exists — read the vendor advisory below for the authoritative guidance.
Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 2 hours ago·verify at source
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