CVE-2025-38073
Linux kernel Block Device Large Sector Size Set Blocksize Race Condition
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: block: fix race between set_blocksize and read paths With the new large sector size support, it's now the case that set_blocksize can change i_blksize and the folio order in a manner that conflicts with a concurrent reader and causes a kernel crash. Specifically, let's say that udev-worker calls libblkid to detect the labels on a block device. The read call can create an order-0 folio to read the first 4096 bytes from the disk. But then udev is preempted. Next, someone tries to mount an 8k-sectorsize filesystem from the same block device. The filesystem calls set_blksize, which sets i_blksize to 8192 and the minimum folio order to 1. Now udev resumes, still holding the order-0 folio it allocated. It then tries to schedule a read bio and do_mpage_readahead tries to create bufferheads for the folio. Unfortunately, blocks_per_folio == 0 because the page size is 4096 but the blocksize is 8192 so no bufferheads are attached and the bh walk never sets bdev. We then submit the bio with a NULL block device and crash. Therefore, truncate the page cache after flushing but before updating i_blksize. However, that's not enough -- we also need to lock out file IO and page faults during the update. Take both the i_rwsem and the invalidate_lock in exclusive mode for invalidations, and in shared mode for read/write operations. I don't know if this is the correct fix, but xfs/259 found it.
INFO
Published Date :
June 18, 2025, 10:15 a.m.
Last Modified :
June 18, 2025, 1:46 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Solution
- Update the affected packages.
- Reboot the system after the update.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
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CVE-2025-38073
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CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2025-38073
is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
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stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2025-38073
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
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CVE-2025-38073
vulnerability anywhere in the article.
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CVE-2025-38073
vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
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New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Jun. 18, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: block: fix race between set_blocksize and read paths With the new large sector size support, it's now the case that set_blocksize can change i_blksize and the folio order in a manner that conflicts with a concurrent reader and causes a kernel crash. Specifically, let's say that udev-worker calls libblkid to detect the labels on a block device. The read call can create an order-0 folio to read the first 4096 bytes from the disk. But then udev is preempted. Next, someone tries to mount an 8k-sectorsize filesystem from the same block device. The filesystem calls set_blksize, which sets i_blksize to 8192 and the minimum folio order to 1. Now udev resumes, still holding the order-0 folio it allocated. It then tries to schedule a read bio and do_mpage_readahead tries to create bufferheads for the folio. Unfortunately, blocks_per_folio == 0 because the page size is 4096 but the blocksize is 8192 so no bufferheads are attached and the bh walk never sets bdev. We then submit the bio with a NULL block device and crash. Therefore, truncate the page cache after flushing but before updating i_blksize. However, that's not enough -- we also need to lock out file IO and page faults during the update. Take both the i_rwsem and the invalidate_lock in exclusive mode for invalidations, and in shared mode for read/write operations. I don't know if this is the correct fix, but xfs/259 found it. Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/64f505b08e0cfd8163491c8c082d4f47a88e51d4 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8c5cf440a378801d313eb58be996fdc81a8878a4 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c0e473a0d226479e8e925d5ba93f751d8df628e9