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CVE-2026-89611
ntfs: validate non-resident attribute offsets
Published 2026-09-11 (37 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem fs/ntfs. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-89611 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 | vulnerable | 6.1.190-1 | No fix published anywhere yet, neither in Debian nor upstream for the series bookworm tracks. Watch the Debian tracker page for this CVE. Advisories for bookworm have historically landed a median of 23 days after publication. |
| Debian 13trixie | vulnerable | 6.12.113-1 | No fix published anywhere yet, neither in Debian nor upstream for the series trixie tracks. Watch the Debian tracker page for this CVE. Advisories for trixie have historically landed a median of 11 days after publication. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
ntfs_attr_update_meta() shifts the attribute name when converting between non-sparse and sparse attributes. Converting to sparse also adds the compressed_size field before the name and mapping pairs, requiring eight additional bytes in the attribute record. However, the validator does not check that name_offset is within safe boundaries for these operations or that the additional space is available. A malicious MFT record could set name_offset such that: 1. The name is positioned at the very end of a non-sparse attribute. Converting to sparse would shift the name forward by 8 bytes, writing beyond the attribute boundary. 2. The name overlaps with the mapping pairs, causing corruption during conversion. Add validation to ensure: - For named attributes, name_offset is within valid bounds - Name does not extend beyond the attribute or overlap with mapping pairs - For non-sparse, non-compressed attributes, eight bytes are available after mapping_pairs_offset for the compressed_size field The space check also covers unnamed attributes, for which name_offset = 0 is valid and no name range needs to be checked.
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/ntfs/attrib.c
- What this is
- NTFS FILESYSTEMMAINTAINERS section matched on fs/ntfs/ · linux-fsdevel@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- ntfs
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_NTFS_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 ntfsPrints 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 1 release. It does build it in 2 releases, so the answer depends on which release the machine runs. The build rule could not be established for 1 release, so nothing is claimed about those.
- bookwormn
- trixie?
- forky, sidm
- n
- not enabled on any flavour - this release does not build the code
- ?
- not established - no Makefile entry for the affected file
- m
- a loadable module on every flavour - check lsmod, can be blacklisted
Where a release above reads "not established", no build rule for the affected file was found in that release's kernel tree. That is a gap in this lookup, not a finding that the code is absent.
- Build switch
- CONFIG_NTFS_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
- 2026-09-11 (37 days 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
- 0.55%, higher than 45.0% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- fs/ntfs
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 7.2.4 | cd7b3dc7557f |
| 0 | 7.3 | a83e82b0ec3a |
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
- fs/ntfs registers ntfs_export_ops, so ksmbd/nfsd VFS write, truncate, create, and ksmbd vfs_fallocate(FALLOC_FL_PUNCH_HOLE) on an exported NTFS volume reach ntfs_attr_update_mapping_pairs() → ntfs_attr_update_meta() without local shell access.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- A crafted MFT record with a malicious name_offset or too little mapping-pairs slack makes ntfs_attr_update_meta() memmove the name or add compressed_size on every attacker-driven punch-hole, sparse extend, or directory update; no race or uninfluenced layout is required.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- Exploitation needs only write or create access on the mounted NTFS volume, including guest/anonymous SMB or world-writable NFS on a misconfigured export and automounted removable media; no init-namespace root or CAP_SYS_ADMIN is required.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- Once the NTFS volume is rw-mounted and optionally exported (or automounted from shared/removable storage), the attacker triggers sparsity conversion via fallocate, truncate, write, or create; no further victim clicks or cooperative opens are needed.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- The overflow corrupts the kmalloc MFT-record buffer and adjacent host-kernel heap during filesystem metadata updates; this is standard kernel privilege impact, not a VM escape, IOMMU bypass, or sandbox scope change.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- memmove of the attacker-controlled attribute name and later mapping-pairs builds write past the kmalloc(mft_record_size) slab into neighboring objects, which per kernel CNA guidance yields an information-disclosure primitive from corrupted adjacent heap contents.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- Converting to or from sparse performs an out-of-bounds heap write of attacker-chosen name bytes and can shift mapping_pairs_offset so ntfs_mapping_pairs_build() stores runs past the record, enabling slab corruption and control-flow hijack.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Overflowing the kmalloc MFT-record slab into adjacent memory can oops or panic the kernel, and even failed exploitation leaves inconsistent MFT metadata that crashes later lookups or writeback.