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CVE-2026-72202

HIGHCVSS 7.5/10EPSS 0.47%

Last modified

CVE-2026-72202 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 7.5/10 on the CVSS scale. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: avoid heap allocation for free-cluster readahead state get_nr_free_clusters() allocates a temporary file_ra_state before it publishes the precomputed free cluster count, sets NVolFreeClusterKnown(), and wakes vol->free_waitq. If that allocation fails, the worker returns without setting the flag or waking waiters, so callers waiting for the free count can block indefinitely. The readahead state is only used synchronously while scanning the bitmap. Keep it on the stack and pass it by address to the readahead helper. EPSS estimates a 0.47% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: avoid heap allocation for free-cluster readahead state get_nr_free_clusters() allocates a temporary file_ra_state before it publishes the precomputed free cluster count, sets NVolFreeClusterKnown(), and wakes vol->free_waitq. If that allocation fails, the worker returns without setting the flag or waking waiters, so callers waiting for the free count can block indefinitely. The readahead state is only used synchronously while scanning the bitmap. Keep it on the stack and pass it by address to the readahead helper. This eliminates the early allocation failure path instead of adding a special case that publishes a conservative count and wakes the waitqueue. Zero-initialize the on-stack state because file_ra_state_init() only sets ra_pages and prev_pos. Apply the same treatment to __get_nr_free_mft_records(), which scans the MFT bitmap with the same short-lived readahead state.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
7.5/10

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

EPSS Probability
0.47%

38.5th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Affected Software

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

VendorProductVersions
LinuxLinux>= 6251f0b0de7d645e3591931ca4c11d8322c1866f, < 40ee64e633e5e413f2255bb48c063977d8c86f34; >= 6251f0b0de7d645e3591931ca4c11d8322c1866f, < c05132077df57a384919f61d7f8a8e76d748a6d4
LinuxLinux7.1

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Received

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-72202?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: avoid heap allocation for free-cluster readahead state get_nr_free_clusters() allocates a temporary file_ra_state before it publishes the precomputed free cluster count, sets NVolFreeClusterKnown(), and wakes vol->free_waitq. If that allocation fails, the worker returns without setting the flag or waking waiters, so callers waiting for the free count can block indefinitely. The readahead state is only used synchronously while scanning the bitmap. Keep it on the stack and pass it by address to the readahead helper. This eliminates the early allocation failure path instead of adding a special case that publishes a conservative count and wakes the waitqueue. Zero-initialize the on-stack state because file_ra_state_init() only sets ra_pages and prev_pos. Apply the same treatment to __get_nr_free_mft_records(), which scans the MFT bitmap with the same short-lived readahead state.
How severe is CVE-2026-72202?
CVE-2026-72202 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.47% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-72202?
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