In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: scrub: fix local_root reference leak in scrub_print_warning_inode() When… (CVE-2026-99067)

The vulnerability in the Linux kernel affects the Btrfs filesystem scrub code. Specifically, in the scrub_print_warning_inode() function, when the paths_from_inode() call fails, the function jumps to an error handling label without releasing a reference acquired by btrfs_get_fs_root(). This results in a reference leak to the root object each time path resolution fails while printing scrub warnings. Other code paths correctly drop this reference. The patch adds the missing reference drop on the failure path to fix the leak.

The impact is a local reference leak within the kernel's Btrfs scrub functionality. This leak could potentially lead to resource exhaustion over time if path resolution failures occur repeatedly during scrub warning printing. There is no indication of direct code execution, privilege escalation, or data corruption from this leak. No known exploits are reported in the wild.

A fix has been applied to the Linux kernel to drop the leaked reference on the failure path in scrub_print_warning_inode(). Users should update to a kernel version that includes this fix once it is released. Since this is a resource leak, no immediate workaround is indicated beyond applying the official patch.