What is CVE-2026-72194?

CVE-2026-72194 is a Critical severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 9.8 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 5.15 onward and patched in 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145 and others. CVE-2026-72194 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-72194?

CVE-2026-72194 has a CVSS score of 9.8 out of 10, rated Critical severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72194?

Yes, CVE-2026-72194 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.15 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-72194 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-72194 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2026-72194

Critical

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/ntfs3: add depth limit to indx_find_buffer to prevent stack overflow indx_find_buffer() recursively descends the B+ tree index with no depth limit. A crafted NTFS image with circular index node references causes unbounded recursion, overflowing the kernel stack and panicking the system. This is reachable by mounting a malicious NTFS filesystem (e.g. from a USB drive via desktop automount) and deleting a file whose index entry triggers the rebalancing fallback path in indx_delete_entry(). Add a depth parameter and bail out with -EINVAL when it reaches the fnd->nodes array bound, matching the constraint already enforced by fnd_push() in indx_find(). The related function indx_find() was previously patched for a similar infinite-loop issue (commit 1732053c8a6b), but indx_find_buffer() was missed.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-08-15

Last modified 2026-08-17

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

9.8

out of 10

Critical

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Vector string

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

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 5.15 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97, 6.18.40, 7.1.5, 7.2 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 5.15

Fixed in

✓ 5.15.212 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.178 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.145 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.97 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.40 6.18.x ✓ 7.1.5 7.1.x ✓ 7.2

References

7 total

Showing 5 of 7 references View all on NVD

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-72194

Severity Critical

CVSS score 9.8 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-08-15

Modified 2026-08-17

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-72194?

CVE-2026-72194 is a Critical severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 9.8 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.15 onward and has been patched in 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145 and others. CVE-2026-72194 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-72194?

CVE-2026-72194 has a CVSS score of 9.8 out of 10, rated Critical severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72194?

Yes. CVE-2026-72194 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.15 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-72194 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2026-72194 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.