CVE-2026-72197
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/ntfs3: bound DeleteIndexEntryAllocation memmove length In do_action()'s DeleteIndexEntryAllocation case, e->size comes from an on-disk INDEX_BUFFER entry. When e->size makes e + e->size point past hdr + hdr->used, PtrOffset(e1, Add2Ptr(hdr, used)) returns a negative ptrdiff_t that is silently cast to a quasi-infinite size_t when passed to memmove(). The memmove then walks past the destination buffer. The sibling DeleteIndexEntryRoot case at fslog.c:3540-3543 already carries the corresponding guard: if (PtrOffset(e1, Add2Ptr(hdr, used)) < esize || Add2Ptr(e, esize) > Add2Ptr(lrh, rec_len) || used + esize > le32_to_cpu(hdr->total)) { goto dirty_vol; } Apply the same shape to the allocation-path case. Also reject esize == 0: memmove(e, e, ...) is a no-op and leaves hdr->used unchanged, hiding a malformed entry from the existing check_index_header() walk. Reproduced under UML+KASAN on mainline 8d90b09e6741 by mounting a crafted NTFS image: the unguarded memmove takes a length of 0xffffffffffffff00 and the kernel oopses in memmove+0x81/0x1a0 on the do_action+0x36a2 frame. [[email protected]: clang-formatted the changes]
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-rc1
and their respective stable series.
References
7 totalFrequently asked questions
-
What is CVE-2026-72197?
CVE-2026-72197 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . 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-2026-72197 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
-
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72197?
Yes. CVE-2026-72197 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-2026-72197 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-72197 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.