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CVE-2026-72188

CRITICALCVSS 9.1/10EPSS 0.19%

Last modified

CVE-2026-72188 is a critical-severity vulnerability rated 9.1/10 on the CVSS scale. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: sanitize MFT references returned from ntfs_lookup_inode_by_name() ntfs_lookup_inode_by_name() returns MFT references read from directory index entries on disk. These values are untrusted, but the function can currently return an error-marked MFT reference to its callers without validating it. Callers later decode lookup failures with MREF_ERR(). EPSS estimates a 0.19% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: sanitize MFT references returned from ntfs_lookup_inode_by_name() ntfs_lookup_inode_by_name() returns MFT references read from directory index entries on disk. These values are untrusted, but the function can currently return an error-marked MFT reference to its callers without validating it. Callers later decode lookup failures with MREF_ERR(). A crafted NTFS image can set the MREF error bit while leaving the low bits as an arbitrary value, causing callers to consume a bogus pseudo-errno instead of treating the lookup result as corrupted on-disk metadata. Fix this at the source by normalizing every error-marked MFT reference returned from ntfs_lookup_inode_by_name() to ERR_MREF(-EIO). Apply this to all four directory lookup return paths so every caller gets a validated result without needing additional checks or an API change. This keeps the sanitization in the common lookup helper, which is cleaner than duplicating validation in each caller.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
9.1/10

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

EPSS Probability
0.19%

8.9th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Affected Software

Source: CNA advisory (CVE.org). NVD analysis pending.

VendorProductVersions
LinuxLinux>= 1e9ea7e04472d4e5e12e58c881eaacfb3e49b669, < 83f396d881c4fd312c7fd5fff2c157fc21104464; >= 1e9ea7e04472d4e5e12e58c881eaacfb3e49b669, < d97a36bae86a9a4021562ded2987f904e6bcb1d7
LinuxLinux7.1

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Received

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-72188?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: sanitize MFT references returned from ntfs_lookup_inode_by_name() ntfs_lookup_inode_by_name() returns MFT references read from directory index entries on disk. These values are untrusted, but the function can currently return an error-marked MFT reference to its callers without validating it. Callers later decode lookup failures with MREF_ERR(). A crafted NTFS image can set the MREF error bit while leaving the low bits as an arbitrary value, causing callers to consume a bogus pseudo-errno instead of treating the lookup result as corrupted on-disk metadata. Fix this at the source by normalizing every error-marked MFT reference returned from ntfs_lookup_inode_by_name() to ERR_MREF(-EIO). Apply this to all four directory lookup return paths so every caller gets a validated result without needing additional checks or an API change. This keeps the sanitization in the common lookup helper, which is cleaner than duplicating validation in each caller.
How severe is CVE-2026-72188?
CVE-2026-72188 has a CVSS score of 9.1/10 (CRITICAL severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.19% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-72188?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

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Source: NVD / NIST