CVE-2026-72209
CriticalCVSS 9.8Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk42th percentile - higher than 42% of all known CVEs
Summary
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's NTFS filesystem was found where ntfs_attr_find() and ntfs_external_attr_find() do not properly validate length fields in variable-length resident attributes. A crafted disk image can trigger an out-of-bounds read (slab-out-of-bounds) during filename lookup operations.
Risk Assessment
The vulnerability allows a local attacker (e.g., by mounting a malicious NTFS image) to trigger an out-of-bounds memory read, potentially leading to information disclosure or a system crash (kernel panic).
Recommendation
Immediately update the Linux kernel to a version containing the fix (commit resolving this issue). Until updated, avoid mounting untrusted NTFS images.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
See all- CVE-2026-98164Unknown
In the Linux kernel, KVM x86/mmu's kvm_gfn_is_write_tracked() only checks the supplied memslot, but page tracking is per-address-space and shadow pages are shared across address spaces. With SMM, a GFN can be write-tracked in one address space and appear untracked in another. The fix checks the supplied slot first, then the slot for the other address space, preventing mmu_try_to_unsync_pages() from marking an upper-level shadow page unsync and triggering a BUG in pte_list_remove().
- CVE-2026-98048Unknown
In the Linux kernel's BPF subsystem, mark_fastcall_pattern_for_call() must ensure that a matched "spill; call; fill" instruction series is not interrupted by a jump. Otherwise the rewrite applied by bpf_remove_fastcall_spills_fills() is unsound. The fix records instructions targeted by jumps in insn_aux_data[*].jump_target and uses this flag to stop growing a pattern.
- CVE-2026-98047Unknown
In the Linux kernel's BPF subsystem, in_rbtree_lock_required_cb() only checks the innermost verifier frame, so rbtree callback restrictions disappear in a nested static subprogram call frame. The subprogram can unlock the tree, remove and drop the node being compared, then relock, leading to freed memory being linked into the tree.
- CVE-2026-98046Unknown
In the Linux kernel's BPF subsystem, bpf_btf_find_by_name_kind() returns a new BTF object fd through __btf_new_fd(), which reaches anon_inode_getfd() that can sleep while allocating or expanding the current task fd table. The helper prototype does not set might_sleep, so the verifier allows the helper in non-sleepable contexts such as BPF timer callbacks.
- CVE-2026-98045Unknown
In the Linux kernel, a BPF verifier vulnerability affects stack helpers that may block on filesystem reads (e.g., resolving build IDs) but were not marked as sleepable. The verifier could still allow these helpers from non-sleepable regions such as RCU or preemption-disabled sections.
- CVE-2026-98044Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier mishandled legacy packet-load instructions (BPF_LD_ABS/BPF_LD_IND) reached from callbacks, triggering a verifier bug warning and an -EFAULT on BPF_PROG_LOAD. A privileged program loader could trigger this issue.
- CVE-2026-98043Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier incorrectly inferred that a pointer with an unbounded offset is non-NULL based solely on its type. As a result, a BPF program could pass verification while a NULL pointer dereference occurred at runtime.
- CVE-2026-98042Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier could resurrect a scalar id dropped by collect_linked_regs() because snapshots of compared registers were taken before linked registers were collected. This could lead to range inconsistencies and precision propagation issues.
- CVE-2026-98041High
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier incorrectly predicted the outcome of pointer vs zero comparisons in JMP32 instructions, failing to distinguish BPF_JMP from BPF_JMP32 comparisons. This led to incorrect inference that a jump is always taken.
- CVE-2026-98040Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier did not mark the zero register as precise for a register-form NULL check. As a result, one path was pruned and the program could dereference a zero pointer at runtime.
Original NVD description (English source)
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: validate attribute values on lookup ntfs_attr_find() and ntfs_external_attr_find() check that generic resident attribute values fit in their attribute records and that fixed-size resident values are large enough. For variable-length resident formats, however, the fixed part is not enough: embedded length fields can still point callers past the resident value. A crafted image can set a small resident $FILE_NAME value_length while leaving file_name_length large. Callers then trust file_name_length and read past the resident value when converting or comparing the name. This was reproduced with a crafted image under KASAN as a slab-out-of-bounds read from the kmalloc-1k MFT record copy. The stack included ntfs_lookup(), ntfs_iget(), ntfs_read_locked_inode(), ntfs_attr_name_get(), ntfs_ucstonls(), and utf16s_to_utf8s(). Add a shared attribute value validator and use it before a lookup path can return an attribute, including the AT_UNUSED enumeration case where callers inspect returned attributes directly. The helper validates resident value bounds, minimum resident value sizes, variable-length $FILE_NAME fields, and non-resident mapping-pairs metadata that was previously checked separately in both lookup paths. This also preserves the intended resident @val matching semantics in the external attribute lookup path. The old duplicated validation block overwrote the actual resident value length with the type-specific minimum length before comparing @val, so variable-length resident values could fail to match even when the bytes were identical. Keep the comparison on the actual value length, and make ntfs_attrlist_entry_add() compare resident attributes with lowest_vcn zero instead of reading the non-resident union member after a successful resident match. Reject non-resident $FILE_NAME records too: the format requires $FILE_NAME to be resident and callers treat returned records as resident.
Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS