CVE-2026-89644: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix extent map leak in NOCOW direct I/O write btrfs_dio_iomap_begin() calls btrfs

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix extent map leak in NOCOW direct I/O write btrfs_dio_iomap_begin() calls btrfs_g

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix extent map leak in NOCOW direct I/O write btrfs_dio_iomap_begin() calls btrfs_get_extent(), which returns an extent map reference that must be dropped on all exit paths. For direct writes into a NOCOW range, btrfs_get_blocks_direct_write() keeps using that extent map and asks btrfs_create_dio_extent() to allocate the ordered extent. If that fails, for example because btrfs_alloc_ordered_extent() fails, the function returns the error without dropping the input extent map. The PREALLOC path avoided this by dropping the input extent map before replacing it with the newly created one. Check the error from btrfs_create_dio_extent() before replacing the map and drop the input extent map on failure.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.17%, higher than 6% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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