vulnerability
Red Hat: CVE-2025-38338: kernel: fs/nfs/read: fix double-unlock bug in nfs_return_empty_folio()
| Severity | CVSS | Published | Added | Modified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | (AV:L/AC:M/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C) | Jul 10, 2025 | Jul 11, 2025 | Jul 14, 2025 |
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
fs/nfs/read: fix double-unlock bug in nfs_return_empty_folio()
Sometimes, when a file was read while it was being truncated by
another NFS client, the kernel could deadlock because folio_unlock()
was called twice, and the second call would XOR back the `PG_locked`
flag.
Most of the time (depending on the timing of the truncation), nobody
notices the problem because folio_unlock() gets called three times,
which flips `PG_locked` back off:
1. vfs_read, nfs_read_folio, ... nfs_read_add_folio,
nfs_return_empty_folio
2. vfs_read, nfs_read_folio, ... netfs_read_collection,
netfs_unlock_abandoned_read_pages
3. vfs_read, ... nfs_do_read_folio, nfs_read_add_folio,
nfs_return_empty_folio
The problem is that nfs_read_add_folio() is not supposed to unlock the
folio if fscache is enabled, and a nfs_netfs_folio_unlock() check is
missing in nfs_return_empty_folio().
Rarely this leads to a warning in netfs_read_collection():
------------[ cut here ]------------
R=0000031c: folio 10 is not locked
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 29 at fs/netfs/read_collect.c:133 netfs_read_collection+0x7c0/0xf00
[...]
Workqueue: events_unbound netfs_read_collection_worker
RIP: 0010:netfs_read_collection+0x7c0/0xf00
[...]
Call Trace:
<TASK>
netfs_read_collection_worker+0x67/0x80
process_one_work+0x12e/0x2c0
worker_thread+0x295/0x3a0
Most of the time, however, processes just get stuck forever in
folio_wait_bit_common(), waiting for `PG_locked` to disappear, which
never happens because nobody is really holding the folio lock.
Solution
References
Explore Exposure Command
Confidently identify and prioritize exposures from endpoint to cloud with full attack surface visibility and threat-aware risk context.