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CVE-2026-72191
ntfs3: validate split-point offset in indx_insert_into_buffer
Published 2026-08-15 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem fs/ntfs3. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-72191 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | fixedDLA-4777-1 · 2026-09-08 · text | 6.1.187-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4777-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-08, in 6.1.187-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixed | 6.12.100-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.100-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.1.5-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.5-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.1.5-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.5-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
indx_insert_into_buffer() computes used = used1 - to_copy - sp_size; memmove(de_t, Add2Ptr(sp, sp_size), used - le32_to_cpu(hdr1->de_off)); where sp and sp_size come from hdr_find_split(). hdr_find_split() walks entries by le16_to_cpu(e->size) without validating that each step stays within hdr->used or that the size field is at least sizeof(struct NTFS_DE). index_hdr_check(), the on-load gatekeeper, only validates header-level fields (used, total, de_off) and does not walk per-entry sizes. A crafted NTFS image whose leaf INDEX_HDR reports used == total but contains one interior NTFS_DE with size = 0xFFF0 therefore passes validation, descends to indx_insert_into_buffer() through the ntfs_create() -> indx_insert_entry() path, and makes hdr_find_split() return an sp whose sp_size (0xFFF0) greatly exceeds the remaining bytes in the buffer. The u32 subtraction underflows and the memmove count becomes a near-4-GiB value, producing an out-of-bounds kernel write that corrupts adjacent allocations and panics the kernel. Reproduced on 7.0.0-rc7 with UML + KASAN via a crafted image and a single 'touch' inside the mounted directory; crash site resolves to fs/ntfs3/index.c at the memmove. Trigger requires only local mount of an attacker-supplied filesystem image (USB, loopback, or removable media auto-mount). Reject the split whenever the chosen sp plus its declared size already extends past hdr1->used. This is the minimal fix; it preserves the existing hdr_find_split() contract and relies on the same out: cleanup path as the pre-existing error returns. A prior OOB read in the very same indx_insert_into_buffer() memmove was fixed in commit b8c44949044e ("fs/ntfs3: Fix OOB read in indx_insert_into_buffer") by tightening hdr_find_e(), but that fix does not cover the split-point size field path addressed here: sp is returned by hdr_find_split(), not hdr_find_e(), and the underflow is driven by sp->size rather than hdr->used exceeding hdr->total.
Where it lives
The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.
fs/ntfs3/index.c
- What this is
- NTFS3 FILESYSTEMMAINTAINERS section matched on fs/ntfs3/ · ntfs3@lists.linux.dev · Supported
- Kernel module
- ntfs3
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_NTFS3_FS /boot/config-$(uname -r)Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.
lsmod | grep -w ntfs3Prints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian does not build this code in 3 releases. It does build it in 1 release, so the answer depends on which release the machine runs.
- bookwormn
- trixiem
- forky, sidn
- n
- not enabled on any flavour - this release does not build the code
- m
- a loadable module on every flavour - check lsmod, can be blacklisted
- Build switch
- CONFIG_NTFS3_FS
From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages
Signals
- Published
- 2026-08-15 (2 months ago)source
- CVSS
- 9.8 critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- network (AV:N)source
- EPSS
- 0.70%, higher than 52.1% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- fs/ntfs3
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 5.15 | 5.15.217 | 8e4ba5a38c15 |
| 5.15 | 6.1.184 | 4c2f648139a0 |
| 5.15 | 6.6.145 | b232eb5c9fe1 |
| 5.15 | 6.12.97 | 7bf74e6baf81 |
| 5.15 | 6.18.40 | f3624cc06919 |
| 5.15 | 7.1.5 | 1758a564b6eb |
| 5.15 | 7.2 | f1df9d771df4 |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4777-1 | 2026-09-08 | bookworm 6.1.187-1 | tracker |
Why the CNA scored it this way
Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source
- AV:NAttack vector, network
- Remote SMB CREATE via ksmbd vfs_create on an ntfs3-exported share reaches ntfs_create_inode→indx_insert_entry→indx_insert_into_buffer; the same memmove path is also reachable locally via open(O_CREAT)/touch on a mounted crafted image.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- The attacker fully controls the on-disk leaf INDEX_HDR and NTFS_DE size (e.g. 0xFFF0); once the buffer is full and a create forces a split, hdr_find_split() deterministically selects the bad entry and the u32 underflow yields a reliable near-4GiB OOB memmove with no race.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- Exploitation requires only a crafted NTFS image and a create in the malicious directory—no root on the target—via udisks2/systemd automount of attacker USB media, or a remote ksmbd client with guest/anonymous write access to an already-mounted ntfs3 export.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- After the crafted volume is mounted (automounter or admin), a single attacker-initiated touch/create or remote SMB CREATE in the prepared full directory triggers the split and OOB memmove without any further victim clicks, prompts, or confirmation.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- The OOB memmove corrupts kernel heap memory within the same host OS security domain as ntfs3; it can enable local privilege escalation but does not cross a VM/hypervisor, IOMMU, or container sandbox boundary.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- The underflowed memmove length reads far beyond the kmalloc'd index buffer from attacker-controlled on-disk bytes, giving a large out-of-bounds kernel heap read and disclosure/corruption primitive in addition to the write side.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- The same memmove performs a massive out-of-bounds kernel heap write of adjacent slab objects with attacker-influenced source data, enabling arbitrary memory corruption and potential control-flow hijack beyond a simple denial of service.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Reproduced on 7.0.0-rc7 with KASAN: the oversized memmove corrupts adjacent allocations and panics the kernel at fs/ntfs3/index.c; even failed exploitation attempts typically cause oops or hard lockup from the unbounded copy.