High · published August 15, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
btrfs: zoned: fix deadlock between metadata writeback and transaction commit
When writing out metadata extent buffers in a zoned filesystem,
btree_writepages() holds fs_info->zoned_meta_io_lock across the whole
writeback loop, including the call to btrfs_check_meta_write_pointer() ->
check_bg_is_active().
For the tree-log block group, check_bg_is_active() may fail to activate
the zone and fall back to btrfs_zone_finish_one_bg() to free an active
zone. That path waits for the running transaction to commit while still
holding zoned_meta_io_lock, but the committer needs that same lock to
write out the tree extents, so the two tasks deadlock:
Task A (kworker, metadata writeback) Task B (fsstress, transaction commit)
------------------------------------ -------------------------------------
wb_workfn() btrfs_commit_transaction(T)
btree_writepages() btrfs_write_and_wait_transaction()
btrfs_zoned_meta_io_lock() btrfs_write_marked_extents()
btrfs_check_meta_write_pointer() btree_writepages()
check_bg_is_active() [treelog_bg] btrfs_zoned_meta_io_lock()
btrfs_zone_finish_one_bg() <blocks on zoned_meta_io_lock,
btrfs_zone_finish() held by Task A>
do_zone_finish()
btrfs_inc_block_group_ro()
btrfs_wait_for_commit()
<blocks waiting for commit
of transaction T, done by
Task B>
The sibling branch in check_bg_is_active() already drops zoned_meta_io_lock
around do_zone_finish() for this exact reason. Do the same in the tree-log
branch: release the lock around btrfs_zone_finish_one_bg() and re-acquire
it afterwards. The lock only protects fs_info->active_{meta,system}_bg,
which this branch does not touch, and ctx->zoned_bg keeps a reference to
the block group across the unlock, so nothing is lost while the lock
is dropped.
This hang occasionally reproduces with fstests generic/475 on a zoned
btrfs filesystem.