CVE-2026-72159
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ocfs2: reject non-inline dinodes with i_size and zero i_clusters On a volume mounted without OCFS2_FEATURE_INCOMPAT_SPARSE_ALLOC, a non-inline regular file with non-zero i_size and zero i_clusters is structurally malformed: the extent map declares no allocated clusters yet the size header claims content exists. Keep rejecting that shape, but express it through a shared predicate so the same invariant is available to normal inode reads and online filecheck. The same zero-cluster shape is also malformed for non-inline directories. ocfs2 directory growth allocates backing storage before advancing i_size, and ocfs2_dir_foreach_blk_el() later walks until ctx->pos reaches i_size_read(inode). A forged directory dinode with a huge i_size and no clusters would repeatedly fail on holes while advancing through the claimed size. Sparse regular files remain exempt: on sparse-alloc volumes, truncate can legitimately grow i_size without allocating clusters. System inodes and inline-data dinodes also retain their separate storage rules. Mirror the check in ocfs2_filecheck_validate_inode_block() as well. filecheck reports through its own error namespace, so malformed size/cluster state is logged as a filecheck invalid-inode result rather than via ocfs2_error(), but it must not proceed into ocfs2_populate_inode().
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
2.6.29
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.10.261,
5.15.212,
6.1.178,
6.6.145,
6.12.97,
6.18.40,
7.1.5,
7.2-rc1
and their respective stable series.
References
8 totalFrequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-72159?
CVE-2026-72159 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.29 onward and has been patched in 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178 and others. CVE-2026-72159 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72159?
Yes. CVE-2026-72159 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.29 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-72159 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-72159 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.