VulnerabilityPublished 18 Mar 2026Updated 19 Oct 2026

CVE-2025-71268: Linux kernel · btrfs: fix reservation leak in some error paths when inserting inline extent

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High · fixed in f7156512c8166d385f574b9ec030479aa7b1e8c9 : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 16:53 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS

0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 24% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

Exploitation: No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
Automatable: Attackers can reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
Technical impact: Limited control over the software or limited information exposure

CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-10-16.

Patch

Available – fixed in f7156512c8166d385f574b9ec030479aa7b1e8c9, f3ee1732851aec6fe6b2cec2ef1b32d4e71d9913, c1c050f92d8f6aac4e17f7f2230160794fceef0c +2

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 18 Mar 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 94ed938aba557aa798acf496f09afb289b619fcd, < f7156512c8166d385f574b9ec030479aa7b1e8c9	Fixed in f7156512c8166d385f574b9ec030479aa7b1e8c9
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 94ed938aba557aa798acf496f09afb289b619fcd, < f3ee1732851aec6fe6b2cec2ef1b32d4e71d9913	Fixed in f3ee1732851aec6fe6b2cec2ef1b32d4e71d9913
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 94ed938aba557aa798acf496f09afb289b619fcd, < c1c050f92d8f6aac4e17f7f2230160794fceef0c	Fixed in c1c050f92d8f6aac4e17f7f2230160794fceef0c
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 94ed938aba557aa798acf496f09afb289b619fcd, < 28768bd3abf9995a93f6e01bfce01c60622964dd	Fixed in 28768bd3abf9995a93f6e01bfce01c60622964dd
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 94ed938aba557aa798acf496f09afb289b619fcd, < 28b97fcbbf523779688e8de5fe55bf2dae3859f6	Fixed in 28b97fcbbf523779688e8de5fe55bf2dae3859f6
LinuxLinux	Affected =4.4	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix is available and has been applied in multiple Linux kernel commits identified by their hashes. Users running affected versions, specifically Linux kernel 4.4, should upgrade to a fixed kernel version containing these commits to remediate the issue. Since this is a kernel-level fix, applying the updated kernel is the recommended mitigation.

Description

CVE-2025-71268 is a high-severity vulnerability in the Linux kernel's btrfs filesystem. It involves a reservation leak in certain error paths when inserting an inline extent. Specifically, if allocation of a path or joining a transaction fails in the __cow_file_range_inline() function, reserved quota group data is not freed, causing a resource leak. This issue has been fixed in several Linux kernel commits.

CWE-772Missing Release of Resource after Effective Lifetime (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: High
The product does not release a resource after its effective lifetime has ended, i.e., after the resource is no longer needed.
Requirements · Language Selection
Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Implementation
It is good practice to be responsible for freeing all resources you allocate and to be consistent with how and where you free resources in a function. If you allocate resources that you intend to free upon completion of the function, you must be sure to free the resources at all exit points for that function including…
Operation · Architecture and Design · Resource Limitation
Use resource-limiting settings provided by the operating system or environment. For example, when managing system resources in POSIX, setrlimit() can be used to set limits for certain types of resources, and getrlimit() can determine how many resources are available.
Attack patterns
HTTP DoS (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 12:09 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-772

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats