CVE-2024-41078 Linux CVE debrief

Who should care

System administrators managing Linux systems with Btrfs filesystems and quota functionality enabled; security teams tracking kernel-level resource leak vulnerabilities; operators of industrial control systems who may have initially assessed this as affecting their Siemens infrastructure based on early advisory versions.

Technical summary

This vulnerability exists in the Btrfs filesystem's quota group (qgroup) subsystem within the Linux kernel. When a quota disable operation fails, the quota root structure may not be properly released, resulting in a resource leak. The quota root is a data structure used to track quota information for Btrfs subvolumes. A failed disable operation that does not clean up this structure can lead to accumulation of leaked memory or metadata structures over repeated operations. This is a local vulnerability affecting systems with Btrfs quotas enabled. The issue was initially reported as affecting Siemens industrial products running SINEC OS but was subsequently reassessed as not affecting those products (marked 'Misinformed' in threat data).

Defensive priority

medium

Recommended defensive actions

• Monitor Btrfs filesystem quota operations for error conditions during disable operations
• Review system logs for quota-related failures on Btrfs volumes
• Apply kernel updates from distribution vendors when available
• Consider disabling Btrfs quotas if not required for operational needs
• Implement resource monitoring to detect potential memory or structure leaks

Evidence notes

The source advisory (ICSA-25-226-07) indicates this CVE was initially included in the affected products list but was subsequently moved to 'Known Not Affected Products' in revision 2 (2026-02-12). The threat category is marked as 'Misinformed' in the CSAF data, suggesting the initial assessment of impact was incorrect. The advisory was republished on 2026-02-25 based on Siemens ProductCERT SSA-355557 advisory.

Official resources