CyberRota Analysis
AI-GeneratedThe vulnerability affects the Linux kernel's NTFS implementation, specifically in the `ntfs_lookup_inode_by_name()` function, which can return unvalidated error-marked MFT references. This flaw allows a crafted NTFS image to manipulate error handling, potentially leading to the consumption of invalid metadata without proper corruption checks. Linux system administrators and developers utilizing NTFS file systems should prioritize applying the fix to mitigate risks associated with corrupted data handling.
Original NVD Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: sanitize MFT references returned from ntfs_lookup_inode_by_name() ntfs_lookup_inode_by_name() returns MFT references read from directory index entries on disk. These values are untrusted, but the function can currently return an error-marked MFT reference to its callers without validating it. Callers later decode lookup failures with MREF_ERR(). A crafted NTFS image can set the MREF error bit while leaving the low bits as an arbitrary value, causing callers to consume a bogus pseudo-errno instead of treating the lookup result as corrupted on-disk metadata. Fix this at the source by normalizing every error-marked MFT reference returned from ntfs_lookup_inode_by_name() to ERR_MREF(-EIO). Apply this to all four directory lookup return paths so every caller gets a validated result without needing additional checks or an API change. This keeps the sanitization in the common lookup helper, which is cleaner than duplicating validation in each caller.