AUGUST 15, 2026
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Case File

CVE-2026-72209

UNKNOWN · CVSS N/A

Source: NVD + CISA KEV + EPSS · Published 2026-08-15 · Last synced 2026-08-15

CyberRota Analysis

AI-Generated

The vulnerability affects the Linux kernel's NTFS file system implementation, specifically in the handling of resident attribute values during lookups. An attacker could exploit this flaw by crafting a malicious image that manipulates the length fields of the $FILE_NAME attribute, potentially leading to a slab-out-of-bounds read and exposing sensitive information or causing a denial of service. Organizations using Linux systems that handle NTFS file systems should prioritize this issue to mitigate potential exploitation risks.

CVE
CVE-2026-72209
Severity
UNKNOWN
CVSS
N/A
EPSS
N/A
Linux

Original NVD 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.