fs/ntfs3: validate index entry key bounds

Summary

CVECVE-2026-97438
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerLinux
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-09-24 17:17:21 UTC
Updated2026-09-25 13:17:27 UTC
DescriptionIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/ntfs3: validate index entry key bounds [BUG] A malformed NTFS directory index entry can advertise a key_size larger than the bytes actually present in its NTFS_DE payload. Directory lookup then passes that malformed key to cmp_fnames(), which can read past the end of the kmalloc'ed index buffer. BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in fname_full_size fs/ntfs3/ntfs.h:590 [inline] BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in cmp_fnames+0x1ea/0x230 fs/ntfs3/index.c:46 Read of size 1 at addr ffff88801c313018 by task syz.6.3365/9279 Call Trace: __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:94 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0xbe/0x130 lib/dump_stack.c:120 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:378 [inline] print_report+0xd1/0x650 mm/kasan/report.c:482 kasan_report+0xfb/0x140 mm/kasan/report.c:595 __asan_report_load1_noabort+0x14/0x30 mm/kasan/report_generic.c:378 fname_full_size fs/ntfs3/ntfs.h:590 [inline] cmp_fnames+0x1ea/0x230 fs/ntfs3/index.c:46 hdr_find_e.isra.0+0x3ed/0x670 fs/ntfs3/index.c:762 indx_find+0x4b5/0x900 fs/ntfs3/index.c:1186 dir_search_u+0x2c0/0x460 fs/ntfs3/dir.c:254 ntfs_lookup+0x1cc/0x2a0 fs/ntfs3/namei.c:85 __lookup_slow+0x241/0x450 fs/namei.c:1816 lookup_slow fs/namei.c:1833 [inline] walk_component+0x31c/0x570 fs/namei.c:2151 link_path_walk+0x592/0xd60 fs/namei.c:2519 path_lookupat+0x138/0x660 fs/namei.c:2675 filename_lookup+0x1f3/0x560 fs/namei.c:2705 filename_setxattr+0xad/0x1c0 fs/xattr.c:660 path_setxattrat+0x1d8/0x280 fs/xattr.c:713 __do_sys_lsetxattr fs/xattr.c:754 [inline] __se_sys_lsetxattr fs/xattr.c:750 [inline] __x64_sys_lsetxattr+0xd0/0x150 fs/xattr.c:750 ... Allocated by task 9279: kasan_save_stack+0x39/0x70 mm/kasan/common.c:56 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x40 mm/kasan/common.c:77 kasan_save_alloc_info+0x37/0x60 mm/kasan/generic.c:573 poison_kmalloc_redzone mm/kasan/common.c:400 [inline] __kasan_kmalloc+0xc3/0xd0 mm/kasan/common.c:417 kasan_kmalloc include/linux/kasan.h:262 [inline] __do_kmalloc_node mm/slub.c:5650 [inline] __kmalloc_noprof+0x2bd/0x900 mm/slub.c:5662 kmalloc_noprof include/linux/slab.h:961 [inline] indx_read+0x41d/0xad0 fs/ntfs3/index.c:1059 indx_find+0x447/0x900 fs/ntfs3/index.c:1179 dir_search_u+0x2c0/0x460 fs/ntfs3/dir.c:254 ntfs_lookup+0x1cc/0x2a0 fs/ntfs3/namei.c:85 __lookup_slow+0x241/0x450 fs/namei.c:1816 lookup_slow fs/namei.c:1833 [inline] walk_component+0x31c/0x570 fs/namei.c:2151 link_path_walk+0x592/0xd60 fs/namei.c:2519 path_lookupat+0x138/0x660 fs/namei.c:2675 filename_lookup+0x1f3/0x560 fs/namei.c:2705 filename_setxattr+0xad/0x1c0 fs/xattr.c:660 path_setxattrat+0x1d8/0x280 fs/xattr.c:713 __do_sys_lsetxattr fs/xattr.c:754 [inline] __se_sys_lsetxattr fs/xattr.c:750 [inline] __x64_sys_lsetxattr+0xd0/0x150 fs/xattr.c:750 ... [CAUSE] The index-header validators only validated INDEX_HDR-level geometry. They did not walk each NTFS_DE to verify entry alignment, subnode layout, or that key_size fit inside the entry payload. They also allowed a last sentinel entry to carry a non-zero key_size. [FIX] Walk every NTFS_DE in ntfs3's index-header validators and reject entries with invalid layout, mismatched subnode state, oversized key_size, or non-zero sentinel keys before lookup or log replay can consume them.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.1 HIGH from 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H

EPSS: 0.001300000 probability, percentile 0.021710000 (date 2026-09-27)


VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67Secondary7.1HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
3.1CNADECLARED7.1HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Linux Linux affected 82cae269cfa953032fbb8980a7d554d60fb00b17 a8f4fb6a7d58974ffc9aed597401528b181d76dc git Not specified
CNA Linux Linux affected 82cae269cfa953032fbb8980a7d554d60fb00b17 0257e3ea00e19129f3ad5c039d8b8fdff0796835 git Not specified
CNA Linux Linux affected 82cae269cfa953032fbb8980a7d554d60fb00b17 98d6e5d9dc1d34dcffc61549617581a5fe1ef807 git Not specified
CNA Linux Linux affected 5.15 Not specified
CNA Linux Linux unaffected 5.15 semver Not specified
CNA Linux Linux unaffected 6.12.111 6.12.* semver Not specified
CNA Linux Linux unaffected 6.18.53 6.18.* semver Not specified
CNA Linux Linux unaffected 7.2 * original_commit_for_fix Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
git.kernel.org/stable/c/0257e3ea00e19129f3ad5c039d8b8fdff0796835 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 git.kernel.org
git.kernel.org/stable/c/a8f4fb6a7d58974ffc9aed597401528b181d76dc 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 git.kernel.org
git.kernel.org/stable/c/98d6e5d9dc1d34dcffc61549617581a5fe1ef807 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 git.kernel.org
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