Critical severity · published Aug 15, 2026
CVE-2026-72209
ntfs: validate attribute values on lookup
9.8
CVSS
0.6%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
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.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.6% · higher than 46% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
LI
Linux · Linux
6ceb4cc81ef3409ff79dcb959771f9110787397a before e4c36dfac57a7261e9aeb0f3a7f30944a8aefb56; 6ceb4cc81ef3409ff79dcb959771f9110787397a before d5803e3345dae9c6470bb61869885236276b9a35; 7.1 · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72209
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-72209
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d5803e3345dae9c6470bb61869885236276b9a35
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e4c36dfac57a7261e9aeb0f3a7f30944a8aefb56
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