fs/ntfs3: validate index entry key bounds
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-97438 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | Linux |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-09-24 17:17:21 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-09-25 13:17:27 UTC |
| Description | In 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)
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 | Secondary | 7.1 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | DECLARED | 7.1 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
RequiredScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
NoneAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
No vendor comments have been submitted for this CVE.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.