VulnerabilityPublished 25 Sep 2026Updated 21 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98081: Linux kernel · btrfs: zoned: finish active block group cleanup if call_zone_finish() fails

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in e1b168a53174b385e3548bfbd079513b22ac240c : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

Severity

Unrated

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 6% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in e1b168a53174b385e3548bfbd079513b22ac240c, a18a6b93a2843b9d103d3456bbd4b3f90282a379, 40370f02a1ca3760f8925ffcbe76eb4d91ea758d +2

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 25 Sep 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 ≥ d70cbdda75da3f258118a558c087157e073229fb, < e1b168a53174b385e3548bfbd079513b22ac240c	Fixed in e1b168a53174b385e3548bfbd079513b22ac240c
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ d70cbdda75da3f258118a558c087157e073229fb, < a18a6b93a2843b9d103d3456bbd4b3f90282a379	Fixed in a18a6b93a2843b9d103d3456bbd4b3f90282a379
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ d70cbdda75da3f258118a558c087157e073229fb, < 40370f02a1ca3760f8925ffcbe76eb4d91ea758d	Fixed in 40370f02a1ca3760f8925ffcbe76eb4d91ea758d
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ d70cbdda75da3f258118a558c087157e073229fb, < 433d52b196a689b18dcfadc7cf6c784f0e5cc7c9	Fixed in 433d52b196a689b18dcfadc7cf6c784f0e5cc7c9
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ d70cbdda75da3f258118a558c087157e073229fb, < 36b9cdab44848f25879ca625275c92b007f84653	Fixed in 36b9cdab44848f25879ca625275c92b007f84653
LinuxLinux	Affected =5.19	Fixed in–

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: zoned: finish active block group cleanup if call_zone_finish() fails do_zone_finish() clears BLOCK_GROUP_FLAG_ZONE_IS_ACTIVE before finishing the zones. If call_zone_finish() then fails it returned early, leaving the now inactive block group on fs_info->zone_active_bgs, leaking its reference, the BTRFS_FS_NEED_ZONE_FINISH waiters are never woken, and as its alloc_offset equals the zone capacity btrfs_zone_finish_one_bg() keeps selecting it, spinning btrfs_zoned_activate_one_bg(). Fall through to the cleanup on failure too and return the error, but keep the block group read-only as its zones are left inconsistent.

References

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