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Linux Kernel CVE-2026-72191

| EUVDEUVD-2026-58949 CRITICAL
2026-08-15 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 GHSA-rw89-wm92-gvrj
Critical
Disputed · 9.8 Vendor: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
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Severity by source

Sources disagree (Medium–Critical)
Vendor (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67) PRIMARY
9.8 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI
5.5 MEDIUM

Local attack via mounting a crafted image (AV:L) needs a low-privileged user able to mount removable media (PR:L); demonstrated impact is a kernel panic, so A:H with no confirmed C/I impact.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE
5.5 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Red Hat
5.5 MEDIUM
qualitative

vuln.today treats the vendor’s rating as authoritative. A higher third-party CVSS (e.g. CISA-ADP) is shown for transparency but does not drive the headline severity.

CVSS VectorVendor: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

5
Analysis Generated
Aug 17, 2026 - 07:29 vuln.today
CVSS changed
Aug 17, 2026 - 06:22 NVD
9.8 (CRITICAL)
Patch available
Aug 15, 2026 - 07:20 EUVD
CVE Published
Aug 15, 2026 - 06:21 cve.org
CRITICAL 9.8
CVE Published
Aug 15, 2026 - 06:21 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)

DescriptionCVE.org

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ntfs3: validate split-point offset in indx_insert_into_buffer

indx_insert_into_buffer() computes

used = used1 - to_copy - sp_size; memmove(de_t, Add2Ptr(sp, sp_size), used - le32_to_cpu(hdr1->de_off));

where sp and sp_size come from hdr_find_split(). hdr_find_split() walks entries by le16_to_cpu(e->size) without validating that each step stays within hdr->used or that the size field is at least sizeof(struct NTFS_DE). index_hdr_check(), the on-load gatekeeper, only validates header-level fields (used, total, de_off) and does not walk per-entry sizes.

A crafted NTFS image whose leaf INDEX_HDR reports used == total but contains one interior NTFS_DE with size = 0xFFF0 therefore passes validation, descends to indx_insert_into_buffer() through the ntfs_create() -> indx_insert_entry() path, and makes hdr_find_split() return an sp whose sp_size (0xFFF0) greatly exceeds the remaining bytes in the buffer. The u32 subtraction underflows and the memmove count becomes a near-4-GiB value, producing an out-of-bounds kernel write that corrupts adjacent allocations and panics the kernel.

Reproduced on 7.0.0-rc7 with UML + KASAN via a crafted image and a single 'touch' inside the mounted directory; crash site resolves to fs/ntfs3/index.c at the memmove. Trigger requires only local mount of an attacker-supplied filesystem image (USB, loopback, or removable media auto-mount).

Reject the split whenever the chosen sp plus its declared size already extends past hdr1->used. This is the minimal fix; it preserves the existing hdr_find_split() contract and relies on the same out: cleanup path as the pre-existing error returns.

A prior OOB read in the very same indx_insert_into_buffer() memmove was fixed in commit b8c44949044e ("fs/ntfs3: Fix OOB read in indx_insert_into_buffer") by tightening hdr_find_e(), but that fix does not cover the split-point size field path addressed here: sp is returned by hdr_find_split(), not hdr_find_e(), and the underflow is driven by sp->size rather than hdr->used exceeding hdr->total.

AnalysisAI

Out-of-bounds kernel write in the Linux kernel's ntfs3 filesystem driver allows a local attacker to corrupt kernel memory and panic the system by mounting a crafted NTFS image and performing a single directory operation. The flaw lives in indx_insert_into_buffer(), where an unvalidated split-point size from hdr_find_split() causes a u32 subtraction underflow and a near-4-GiB memmove. A vendor fix is available across multiple stable branches; EPSS is low (0.21%) and no public exploit is identified at time of analysis, though the trigger is trivial (a 'touch' on a mounted attacker-supplied image).

Technical ContextAI

The affected component is ntfs3, the in-tree read/write NTFS driver added in Linux 5.15. During B-tree index maintenance for directory entries, indx_insert_into_buffer() splits a full index buffer using a split point (sp) and its declared size (sp_size) returned by hdr_find_split(). hdr_find_split() walks NTFS_DE entries using each entry's le16 size field without confirming the walk stays inside hdr->used or that each size is at least sizeof(struct NTFS_DE). The on-load gatekeeper index_hdr_check() only validates header-level fields (used, total, de_off) and never walks per-entry sizes, so a leaf INDEX_HDR reporting used == total but containing an interior NTFS_DE with size 0xFFF0 passes validation. This is a classic integer-underflow-to-OOB-write pattern (CWE-191 integer underflow leading to CWE-787 out-of-bounds write): 'used = used1 - to_copy - sp_size' underflows when sp_size exceeds remaining bytes, and the resulting huge count is passed to memmove. The NVD lists CWE as N/A, so the weakness class here is inferred from the description.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: upgrade to a fixed kernel - 6.6.145, 6.12.97, 6.18.40, 7.1.5, or 7.2-rc1 (or later) as applicable to your stable branch, corresponding to the fix commits at https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7bf74e6baf810fe325f111996496c678fc6e244f and siblings; distribution users should apply their vendor's backported kernel update. Where immediate patching is not possible, the most effective compensating control is to prevent mounting of untrusted NTFS images: disable automatic mounting of removable media (e.g. mask udisks2/autofs auto-mount rules or set udisks 'mount-on-insert' off), which stops USB/removable auto-mount attacks at the cost of losing convenience mounting for legitimate users. Additionally, restrict who can mount filesystems (avoid user-mountable NTFS in /etc/fstab, ensure CAP_SYS_ADMIN is required) and, if ntfs3 is not needed, blacklist the module (blacklist ntfs3), noting this removes NTFS read/write support entirely. These controls reduce exposure but do not fix the underlying underflow, so patching remains the priority.

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Moderate
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.0 Affected

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CVE-2026-72191 vulnerability details – vuln.today

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