Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hfsplus: remove mutex_lock...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
hfsplus: remove mutex_lock check in hfsplus_free_extents
Syzbot reported an issue in hfsplus filesystem:
------------[ cut here ]------------
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 4400 at fs/hfsplus/extents.c:346
hfsplus_free_extents+0x700/0xad0
Call Trace:
hfsplus_file_truncate+0x768/0xbb0 fs/hfsplus/extents.c:606
hfsplus_write_begin+0xc2/0xd0 fs/hfsplus/inode.c:56
cont_expand_zero fs/buffer.c:2383 [inline]
cont_write_begin+0x2cf/0x860 fs/buffer.c:2446
hfsplus_write_begin+0x86/0xd0 fs/hfsplus/inode.c:52
generic_cont_expand_simple+0x151/0x250 fs/buffer.c:2347
hfsplus_setattr+0x168/0x280 fs/hfsplus/inode.c:263
notify_change+0xe38/0x10f0 fs/attr.c:420
do_truncate+0x1fb/0x2e0 fs/open.c:65
do_sys_ftruncate+0x2eb/0x380 fs/open.c:193
do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
do_syscall_64+0x3d/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd
To avoid deadlock, Commit 31651c607151 ("hfsplus: avoid deadlock
on file truncation") unlock extree before hfsplus_free_extents(),
and add check wheather extree is locked in hfsplus_free_extents().
However, when operations such as hfsplus_file_release,
hfsplus_setattr, hfsplus_unlink, and hfsplus_get_block are executed
concurrently in different files, it is very likely to trigger the
WARN_ON, which will lead syzbot and xfstest to consider it as an
abnormality.
The comment above this warning also describes one of the easy
triggering situations, which can easily trigger and cause
xfstest&syzbot to report errors.
[task A] [task B]
->hfsplus_file_release
->hfsplus_file_truncate
->hfs_find_init
->mutex_lock
->mutex_unlock
->hfsplus_write_begin
->hfsplus_get_block
->hfsplus_file_extend
->hfsplus_ext_read_extent
->hfs_find_init
->mutex_lock
->hfsplus_free_extents
WARN_ON(mutex_is_locked) !!!
Several threads could try to lock the shared extents tree.
And warning can be triggered in one thread when another thread
has locked the tree. This is the wrong behavior of the code and
we need to remove the warning.
Impact
CVE-2025-38650 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-2025-38650? CVE-2025-38650 is a medium-severity security vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet.
- How severe is CVE-2025-38650? CVE-2025-38650 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-2025-38650? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2025-38650 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2025-38650 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-38650 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-2025-38650 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.