Vulnerability · Published May 8, 2026 · Assigned by Linux

CVE-2026-43338btrfs: reserve enough transaction items for qgroup ioctls

Medium 5.5

In plain English

A medium-severity security flaw in Linux from Linux. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.1% (higher than 2% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS NVD)5.5Medium
Exploit odds (30 days)0.1%top 98.5% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsnot in CISA KEV
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: reserve enough transaction items for qgroup ioctls Currently our qgroup ioctls don't reserve any space, they just do a transaction join, which does not reserve any space, neither for the quota tree updates nor for the delayed refs generated when updating the quota tree. The quota root uses the global block reserve, which is fine most of the time since we don't expect a lot of updates to the quota root, or to be too close to -ENOSPC such that other critical metadata updates need to resort to the global reserve. However this is not optimal, as not reserving proper space may result in a transaction abort due to not reserving space for delayed refs and then abusing the use of the global block reserve. For example, the following reproducer (which is unlikely to model any real world use case, but just to illustrate the problem), triggers such a transaction abort due to -ENOSPC when running delayed refs: $ cat test.sh #!/bin/bash DEV=/dev/nullb0 MNT=/mnt/nullb0 umount $DEV &> /dev/null # Limit device to 1G so that it's much faster to reproduce the issue. mkfs.btrfs -f -b 1G $DEV mount -o commit=600 $DEV $MNT fallocate -l 800M $MNT/filler btrfs quota enable $MNT for ((i = 1; i <= 400000; i++)); do btrfs qgroup create 1/$i $MNT done umount $MNT When running this, we can see in dmesg/syslog that a transaction abort happened: [436.490] BTRFS error (device nullb0): failed to run delayed ref for logical 30408704 num_bytes 16384 type 176 action 1 ref_mod 1: -28 [436.493] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [436.494] BTRFS: Transaction aborted (error -28) [436.495] WARNING: fs/btrfs/extent-tree.c:2247 at btrfs_run_delayed_refs+0xd9/0x110 [btrfs], CPU#4: umount/2495372 [436.497] Modules linked in: btrfs loop (...) [436.508] CPU: 4 UID: 0 PID: 2495372 Comm: umount Tainted: G W 6.19.0-rc8-btrfs-next-225+ #1 PREEMPT(full) [436.510] Tainted: [W]=WARN [436.511] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.16.2-0-gea1b7a073390-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 [436.513] RIP: 0010:btrfs_run_delayed_refs+0xdf/0x110 [btrfs] [436.514] Code: 0f 82 ea (...) [436.518] RSP: 0018:ffffd511850b7d78 EFLAGS: 00010292 [436.519] RAX: 00000000ffffffe4 RBX: ffff8f120dad37e0 RCX: 0000000002040001 [436.520] RDX: 0000000000000002 RSI: 00000000ffffffe4 RDI: ffffffffc090fd80 [436.522] RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: ffffffffc04d1867 [436.523] R10: ffff8f18dc1fffa8 R11: 0000000000000003 R12: ffff8f173aa89400 [436.524] R13: 0000000000000000 R14: ffff8f173aa89400 R15: 0000000000000000 [436.526] FS: 00007fe59045d840(0000) GS:ffff8f192e22e000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [436.527] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [436.528] CR2: 00007fe5905ff2b0 CR3: 000000060710a002 CR4: 0000000000370ef0 [436.530] Call Trace: [436.530] <TASK> [436.530] btrfs_commit_transaction+0x73/0xc00 [btrfs] [436.531] ? btrfs_attach_transaction_barrier+0x1e/0x70 [btrfs] [436.532] sync_filesystem+0x7a/0x90 [436.533] generic_shutdown_super+0x28/0x180 [436.533] kill_anon_super+0x12/0x40 [436.534] btrfs_kill_super+0x12/0x20 [btrfs] [436.534] deactivate_locked_super+0x2f/0xb0 [436.534] cleanup_mnt+0xea/0x180 [436.535] task_work_run+0x58/0xa0 [436.535] exit_to_user_mode_loop+0xed/0x480 [436.536] ? __x64_sys_umount+0x68/0x80 [436.536] do_syscall_64+0x2a5/0xf20 [436.537] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e [436.537] RIP: 0033:0x7fe5906b6217 [436.538] Code: 0d 00 f7 (...) [436.540] RSP: 002b:00007ffcd87a61f8 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 00000000000000a6 [436.541] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 00005618b9ecadc8 RCX: 00007fe5906b6217 [436.541] RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: 00005618b9ecb100 [436.542] RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 00007ffcd87a4fe0 R09: 00000000ffffffff [436.544] R10: 0000000000000103 R11: ---truncated---

Affected packages & fixed versions

EcosystemPackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian:12linuxno fix listedDEBIAN-CVE-2026-43338
Debian:13linux6.12.85-1DEBIAN-CVE-2026-43338
Debian:14linux6.19.12-1DEBIAN-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinuxno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux6.8.0-136.136UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:25.10linuxno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-allwinner-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-awsno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-aws6.8.0-1061.64UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:25.10linux-awsno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.86.8.0-1061.64~22.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azureno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure6.8.0-1063.71UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:25.10linux-azureno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.86.8.0-1063.71~22.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fdeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde6.8.0-1062.69UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:25.10linux-azure-fdeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-6.86.8.0-1062.69~22.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-nvidiano fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-nvidia-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcpno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp6.8.0-1064.72UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:25.10linux-gcpno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.86.8.0-1064.72~22.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gkeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gke6.8.0-1059.67UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gkeopno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gkeop6.8.0-1046.50UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.86.8.0-136.136~22.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-ibmno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-ibm6.8.0-1061.62UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-ibm-6.86.8.0-1061.62~22.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-intel-iot-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-intel-iotgno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-kvmno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatencyno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency6.8.0-136.136.2UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.86.8.0-136.136.2~22.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidiano fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia6.8.0-1059.62UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.86.8.0-1059.62~22.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-lowlatency6.8.0-1059.62.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-tegrano fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-tegra6.8.0-1030.31UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-tegra-igxno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-5.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.0no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.1no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oracleno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oracle6.8.0-1058.61UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:25.10linux-oracleno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.86.8.0-1058.61~22.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-raspino fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-raspi6.8.0-1061.65UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:25.10linux-raspino fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-raspi-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:25.10linux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscvno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscvno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:25.10linux-riscvno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.86.8.0-136.136~22.04.3UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-vmware6.8.0-1008.8UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-xilinx6.8.0-1033.34UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-xilinx-zynqmpno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-43338

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
Linux Linux 5d13a37bd5327220e13329943d1228acfbe5934a – before 4ccd563214419cef14a54df9333ed655484e9dc85d13a37bd5327220e13329943d1228acfbe5934a – before 320942ce316a17b104b5814db55e42a42c2442cf5d13a37bd5327220e13329943d1228acfbe5934a – before bb6eb33c908edbbb4d92abdc0c6c87f21b4952e85d13a37bd5327220e13329943d1228acfbe5934a – before cf930a651eef6f8d915bf0ccd60c2045974f870c5d13a37bd5327220e13329943d1228acfbe5934a – before 386f5e16a383101a68e195c806b4eedb233cd1d35d13a37bd5327220e13329943d1228acfbe5934a – before f9a4e3015db1aeafbef407650eb8555445ca943e
Linux Linux 3.6

References