CVE-2026-72189

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: fail attrlist updates when the superblock is inactive generic_shutdown_super() clears SB_ACTIVE before evicting cached inodes. If eviction selects the fake inode for a base inode's unnamed $ATTRIBUTE_LIST attribute, ntfs_evict_big_inode() drops the fake inode's reference on the base inode while the fake inode is still hashed and marked I_FREEING. That iput can synchronously write back the base inode. The writeback path may update mapping pairs and call ntfs_attrlist_update(), which unconditionally calls ntfs_attr_iget() for the same $ATTRIBUTE_LIST fake inode. VFS then finds the I_FREEING inode and waits for eviction to finish, but the current task is still inside that eviction path, causing a self-deadlock in find_inode(). Fix this by mirroring the teardown guard used by __ntfs_write_inode(): once SB_ACTIVE has been cleared, do not try to iget the attribute-list fake inode. Return -EIO so teardown aborts the update instead of waiting on the inode it is evicting.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2026-08-15
Last modified 2026-08-17
Patch available
Yes

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 7.1 and later are affected. Fixed in 7.1.5, 7.2 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 7.1
Fixed in
✓ 7.1.5 7.1.x ✓ 7.2

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2026-72189?

    CVE-2026-72189 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 7.1 onward and has been patched in 7.1.5 and 7.2. CVE-2026-72189 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72189?

    Yes. CVE-2026-72189 has been patched. Fixed versions include 7.1.5 and 7.2. If you are running Linux kernel 7.1 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2026-72189 actively exploited?

    No. CVE-2026-72189 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.