Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix BUG_ON condition...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
btrfs: fix BUG_ON condition in btrfs_cancel_balance
Pausing and canceling balance can race to interrupt balance lead to BUG_ON
panic in btrfs_cancel_balance. The BUG_ON condition in btrfs_cancel_balance
does not take this race scenario into account.
However, the race condition has no other side effects. We can fix that.
Reproducing it with panic trace like this:
kernel BUG at fs/btrfs/volumes.c:4618!
RIP: 0010:btrfs_cancel_balance+0x5cf/0x6a0
Call Trace:
? do_nanosleep+0x60/0x120
? hrtimer_nanosleep+0xb7/0x1a0
? sched_core_clone_cookie+0x70/0x70
btrfs_ioctl_balance_ctl+0x55/0x70
btrfs_ioctl+0xa46/0xd20
__x64_sys_ioctl+0x7d/0xa0
do_syscall_64+0x38/0x80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd
Race scenario as follows:
mutex_unlock(&fs_info->balance_mutex);
.......issue pause and cancel req in another thread
ret = __btrfs_balance(fs_info);
mutex_lock(&fs_info->balance_mutex);
if (ret == -ECANCELED && atomic_read(&fs_info->balance_pause_req)) {
btrfs_info(fs_info, "balance: paused");
btrfs_exclop_balance(fs_info, BTRFS_EXCLOP_BALANCE_PAUSED);
}
Impact
CVE-2023-53339 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-53339? CVE-2023-53339 is a medium-severity security vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet.
- How severe is CVE-2023-53339? CVE-2023-53339 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-53339? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2023-53339 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2023-53339 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-53339 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2023-53339 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.