CVE-2026-72189

UnknownEPSS 0.19%

Last modified

CVE-2026-72189 is a vulnerability of currently unknown severity. 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. 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: 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.

Metrics

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>= 495e90fa334828d4119061e2726af51d0a0fb4ed, < d5379035355c0dcb1e92a2544d40f48441e1d637; >= 495e90fa334828d4119061e2726af51d0a0fb4ed, < 0ebe8f625ab0520217a425d7cd366e4670484941
LinuxLinux7.1

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Received

Frequently Asked Questions

What is 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.
How severe is CVE-2026-72189?
Severity scoring for CVE-2026-72189 is pending analysis. The EPSS model estimates a 0.19% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-72189?
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