CVE-2026-23181 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2026-23181
Vulnerability Scoring

Analysis In Progress

Attack Complexity Details

Attack Complexity:
Attack Complexity Analysis In Progress
Attack Vector:
Attack Vector Under Analysis
Privileges Required: None
No authentication is required for exploitation.
Scope:
Impact is confined to the initially vulnerable component.
User Interaction: None
No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2026-23181 Details

Status: Awaiting Analysis

Last updated: 🕠 18 Feb 2026, 17:52 UTC
Originally published on: 🕔 14 Feb 2026, 17:15 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 4 days

CVSS Release:

CVE-2026-23181 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2026-23181: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: sync read disk super and set block size When the user performs a btrfs mount, the block device is not set correctly. The user sets the block size of the block device to 0x4000 by executing the BLKBSZSET command. Since the block size change also changes the mapping->flags value, this further affects the result of the mapping_min_folio_order() calculation. Let's analyze the following two scenarios: Scenario 1: Without executing the BLKBSZSET command, the block size is 0x1000, and mapping_min_folio_order() returns 0; Scenario 2: After executing the BLKBSZSET command, the block size is 0x4000, and mapping_min_folio_order() returns 2. do_read_cache_folio() allocates a folio before the BLKBSZSET command is executed. This results in the allocated folio having an order value of 0. Later, after BLKBSZSET is executed, the block size increases to 0x4000, and the mapping_min_folio_order() calculation result becomes 2. This leads to two undesirable consequences: 1. filemap_add_folio() triggers a VM_BUG_ON_FOLIO(folio_order(folio) < mapping_min_folio_order(mapping)) assertion. 2. The syzbot report [1] shows a null pointer dereference in create_empty_buffers() due to a buffer head allocation failure. Synchronization should be established based on the inode between the BLKBSZSET command and read cache page to prevent inconsistencies in block size or mapping flags before and after folio allocation. [1] KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000000-0x0000000000000007] RIP: 0010:create_empty_buffers+0x4d/0x480 fs/buffer.c:1694 Call Trace: folio_create_buffers+0x109/0x150 fs/buffer.c:1802 block_read_full_folio+0x14c/0x850 fs/buffer.c:2403 filemap_read_folio+0xc8/0x2a0 mm/filemap.c:2496 do_read_cache_folio+0x266/0x5c0 mm/filemap.c:4096 do_read_cache_page mm/filemap.c:4162 [inline] read_cache_page_gfp+0x29/0x120 mm/filemap.c:4195 btrfs_read_disk_super+0x192/0x500 fs/btrfs/volumes.c:1367

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2026-23181

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2026-23181 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2026-23181

No exploitability data is available for CVE-2026-23181.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2026-23181, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2026-23181, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

Confidentiality: None
CVE-2026-23181 does not compromise confidentiality.
Integrity: None
CVE-2026-23181 does not impact data integrity.
Availability: None
CVE-2026-23181 does not affect system availability.

CVE-2026-23181 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

Unknown

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