Vulnerability · Published Sep 24, 2026 · Assigned by Linux

CVE-2026-97438fs/ntfs3: validate index entry key bounds

High 7.1

In plain English

A high-severity security flaw in Linux from Linux. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.1% (higher than 3% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)7.1High
Exploit odds (30 days)0.1%top 97.3% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsnot in CISA KEV
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/ntfs3: validate index entry key bounds [BUG] A malformed NTFS directory index entry can advertise a key_size larger than the bytes actually present in its NTFS_DE payload. Directory lookup then passes that malformed key to cmp_fnames(), which can read past the end of the kmalloc'ed index buffer. BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in fname_full_size fs/ntfs3/ntfs.h:590 [inline] BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in cmp_fnames+0x1ea/0x230 fs/ntfs3/index.c:46 Read of size 1 at addr ffff88801c313018 by task syz.6.3365/9279 Call Trace: __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:94 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0xbe/0x130 lib/dump_stack.c:120 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:378 [inline] print_report+0xd1/0x650 mm/kasan/report.c:482 kasan_report+0xfb/0x140 mm/kasan/report.c:595 __asan_report_load1_noabort+0x14/0x30 mm/kasan/report_generic.c:378 fname_full_size fs/ntfs3/ntfs.h:590 [inline] cmp_fnames+0x1ea/0x230 fs/ntfs3/index.c:46 hdr_find_e.isra.0+0x3ed/0x670 fs/ntfs3/index.c:762 indx_find+0x4b5/0x900 fs/ntfs3/index.c:1186 dir_search_u+0x2c0/0x460 fs/ntfs3/dir.c:254 ntfs_lookup+0x1cc/0x2a0 fs/ntfs3/namei.c:85 __lookup_slow+0x241/0x450 fs/namei.c:1816 lookup_slow fs/namei.c:1833 [inline] walk_component+0x31c/0x570 fs/namei.c:2151 link_path_walk+0x592/0xd60 fs/namei.c:2519 path_lookupat+0x138/0x660 fs/namei.c:2675 filename_lookup+0x1f3/0x560 fs/namei.c:2705 filename_setxattr+0xad/0x1c0 fs/xattr.c:660 path_setxattrat+0x1d8/0x280 fs/xattr.c:713 __do_sys_lsetxattr fs/xattr.c:754 [inline] __se_sys_lsetxattr fs/xattr.c:750 [inline] __x64_sys_lsetxattr+0xd0/0x150 fs/xattr.c:750 ... Allocated by task 9279: kasan_save_stack+0x39/0x70 mm/kasan/common.c:56 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x40 mm/kasan/common.c:77 kasan_save_alloc_info+0x37/0x60 mm/kasan/generic.c:573 poison_kmalloc_redzone mm/kasan/common.c:400 [inline] __kasan_kmalloc+0xc3/0xd0 mm/kasan/common.c:417 kasan_kmalloc include/linux/kasan.h:262 [inline] __do_kmalloc_node mm/slub.c:5650 [inline] __kmalloc_noprof+0x2bd/0x900 mm/slub.c:5662 kmalloc_noprof include/linux/slab.h:961 [inline] indx_read+0x41d/0xad0 fs/ntfs3/index.c:1059 indx_find+0x447/0x900 fs/ntfs3/index.c:1179 dir_search_u+0x2c0/0x460 fs/ntfs3/dir.c:254 ntfs_lookup+0x1cc/0x2a0 fs/ntfs3/namei.c:85 __lookup_slow+0x241/0x450 fs/namei.c:1816 lookup_slow fs/namei.c:1833 [inline] walk_component+0x31c/0x570 fs/namei.c:2151 link_path_walk+0x592/0xd60 fs/namei.c:2519 path_lookupat+0x138/0x660 fs/namei.c:2675 filename_lookup+0x1f3/0x560 fs/namei.c:2705 filename_setxattr+0xad/0x1c0 fs/xattr.c:660 path_setxattrat+0x1d8/0x280 fs/xattr.c:713 __do_sys_lsetxattr fs/xattr.c:754 [inline] __se_sys_lsetxattr fs/xattr.c:750 [inline] __x64_sys_lsetxattr+0xd0/0x150 fs/xattr.c:750 ... [CAUSE] The index-header validators only validated INDEX_HDR-level geometry. They did not walk each NTFS_DE to verify entry alignment, subnode layout, or that key_size fit inside the entry payload. They also allowed a last sentinel entry to carry a non-zero key_size. [FIX] Walk every NTFS_DE in ntfs3's index-header validators and reject entries with invalid layout, mismatched subnode state, oversized key_size, or non-zero sentinel keys before lookup or log replay can consume them.

Affected packages & fixed versions

EcosystemPackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian:12linux6.1.190-1DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97438
Debian:13linux6.12.111-1DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97438
Debian:14linux7.2.6-1DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97438
Debian:12linux-6.126.12.111-1~deb12u1DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux5.15.0-202.212UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinuxno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux7.0.0-42.42UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-allwinner-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws5.15.0-1119.126UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-awsno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-aws7.0.0-1016.17UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-aws-7.0no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure5.15.0-1125.134UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azureno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-azureno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-7.0no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde5.15.0-1124.133UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-fdeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-azure-fdeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-7.0no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-nvidiano fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-nvidia-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp5.15.0-1120.130UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcpno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-gcp7.0.0-1016.18UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-7.0no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gke5.15.0-1115.121UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gkeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-gkeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gkeop5.15.0-1102.110UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gkeopno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-7.07.0.0-42.42~24.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-ibm5.15.0-1113.117UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-ibmno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-ibm7.0.0-1017.17UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-ibm-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-intel-iot-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-intel-iotg5.15.0-1114.120UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-kvm5.15.0-1111.116UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency5.15.0-197.207UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-lowlatencyno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia5.15.0-1114.115UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidiano fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-nvidiano fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-7.0no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-bosno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-lowlatencyno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-tegra5.15.0-1070.72UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-tegrano fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-tegra-igx5.15.0-1059.59UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-5.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.0no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.1no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-oem-7.07.0.0-1017.17UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oracle5.15.0-1116.122UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oracleno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-oracle7.0.0-1015.16UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oracle-7.0no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-raspino fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-raspino fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-raspino fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-raspi-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscvno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscvno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-riscv7.0.0-42.42.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscv-7.07.0.0-42.42.1~24.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-vmwareno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-xilinxno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-xilinx-zynqmpno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
Linux Linux 82cae269cfa953032fbb8980a7d554d60fb00b17 – before c8d93bc4823baecab3c39b877e16ac5f8d4d41ba82cae269cfa953032fbb8980a7d554d60fb00b17 – before 7feeb424bda7f6ffaf5090cdd01b300eaa74c02b82cae269cfa953032fbb8980a7d554d60fb00b17 – before d564a885219a655077eefafeb72395a4580ebd6982cae269cfa953032fbb8980a7d554d60fb00b17 – before a8f4fb6a7d58974ffc9aed597401528b181d76dc82cae269cfa953032fbb8980a7d554d60fb00b17 – before 0257e3ea00e19129f3ad5c039d8b8fdff079683582cae269cfa953032fbb8980a7d554d60fb00b17 – before 98d6e5d9dc1d34dcffc61549617581a5fe1ef807
Linux Linux 5.15

References