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CVE-2026-72193
ntfs3: cap RESTART_TABLE free-chain walker at rt->used
Overview
Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs3: cap RESTART_TABLE free-chain walker at rt->used A crafted NTFS3 disk image triggers an in-kernel infinite loop at mount time, hanging the mounting thread and firing the soft-lockup watchdog within ~22s on multi-CPU hosts (panic with kernel.softlockup_panic=1). The bug is reachable from desktop USB auto-mount on distributions where udisks2 routes the NTFS signature to the in-tree ntfs3 driver (Arch family and an increasing fraction of Fedora / openSUSE / RHEL deployments); CAP_SYS_ADMIN-class manual mount elsewhere. check_rstbl()'s second walker iterates the free-entry singly-linked list headed by rt->first_free with no upper bound on iteration count: for (off = ff; off;) { if (off == RESTART_ENTRY_ALLOCATED) return false; off = le32_to_cpu(*(__le32 *)Add2Ptr(rt, off)); if (off > ts - sizeof(__le32)) return false; } The existing guards cover three exits: end-of-list (off == 0), the in-use marker (off == RESTART_ENTRY_ALLOCATED), and out-of-bounds (off > ts - sizeof(__le32)). None of the three prevents an in-bounds cycle. A crafted on-disk RESTART_TABLE whose free chain contains a self-loop or A->B->A cycle whose offsets satisfy: - in range [sizeof(struct RESTART_TABLE), ts - sizeof(__le32)] - (off - sizeof(struct RESTART_TABLE)) % rsize == 0 passes all existing guards and spins the mount-time thread forever. Reproduced in UML by hand-forging a 2 MB NTFS3 image whose journal RESTART_TABLE first_free = 0x18 and whose entry at offset 0x18 stores 0x18 as its next pointer; mount of the forged image with the in-tree ntfs3 driver never returns. Bound the walker by rt->used. Each entry on a legitimate free chain is unique, and the total slot count is ne = le16_to_cpu (rt->used). A traversal that visits more than ne slots is by construction malformed; reject it as a corrupt RESTART_TABLE. After this patch, mount of the forged image returns with -EINVAL and a log_replay failure message, and mkntfs-produced legitimate images mount cleanly (verified in the same UML harness).

Details
INFO

Published Date :

Aug. 15, 2026, 6:21 a.m.

Last Modified :

Aug. 17, 2026, 6:18 a.m.

Remotely Exploit :

No

Source :

416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Impact
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-72193 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Linux linux_kernel
: Total Affected Vendor : 1 | Products : 1
Solution
The kernel vulnerability causes an infinite loop, leading to a denial of service.
  • Update the Linux kernel to a patched version.
  • Mount the NTFS3 filesystem with caution.
  • Verify filesystem integrity before mounting.
References
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2026-72193.

URL Resource
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0fad25687d4d3fa1fdd313d31b9cb5817c425029
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/29b86dbe88cbbef53bb9aaec2e279359f8c450f8
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7972df425687daa70d971fe6ed415e78683133dd
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7ac4c86915c24c208a0f0611b71d9676686fe756
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8128bec895075253c779d67afdc90ae513265fca
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9611f644302c07d21bc8af97e3e06a3d30064253
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d313416280d41bea272f02a6034dfa88008692a0
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-72193 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-72193 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-72193 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

Results are limited to the first 20 news articles due to potential performance issues.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-72193 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • CVE Modified by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

    Aug. 17, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Changed Affected [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '8128bec895075253c779d67afdc90ae513265fca', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '7972df425687daa70d971fe6ed415e78683133dd', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '7ac4c86915c24c208a0f0611b71d9676686fe756', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '29b86dbe88cbbef53bb9aaec2e279359f8c450f8', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '0fad25687d4d3fa1fdd313d31b9cb5817c425029', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': 'd313416280d41bea272f02a6034dfa88008692a0', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '9611f644302c07d21bc8af97e3e06a3d30064253', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['fs/ntfs3/fslog.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '5.15'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '5.15', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '5.15.212', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '5.15.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.1.178', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.6.145', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.6.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.12.97', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.12.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.18.40', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.18.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.2-rc1', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['fs/ntfs3/fslog.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '8128bec895075253c779d67afdc90ae513265fca', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '7972df425687daa70d971fe6ed415e78683133dd', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '7ac4c86915c24c208a0f0611b71d9676686fe756', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '29b86dbe88cbbef53bb9aaec2e279359f8c450f8', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '0fad25687d4d3fa1fdd313d31b9cb5817c425029', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': 'd313416280d41bea272f02a6034dfa88008692a0', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '9611f644302c07d21bc8af97e3e06a3d30064253', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['fs/ntfs3/fslog.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '5.15'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '5.15', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '5.15.212', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '5.15.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.1.178', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.6.145', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.6.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.12.97', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.12.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.18.40', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.18.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.2', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['fs/ntfs3/fslog.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}]
  • New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

    Aug. 15, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Affected [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '8128bec895075253c779d67afdc90ae513265fca', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '7972df425687daa70d971fe6ed415e78683133dd', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '7ac4c86915c24c208a0f0611b71d9676686fe756', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '29b86dbe88cbbef53bb9aaec2e279359f8c450f8', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '0fad25687d4d3fa1fdd313d31b9cb5817c425029', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': 'd313416280d41bea272f02a6034dfa88008692a0', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445', 'lessThan': '9611f644302c07d21bc8af97e3e06a3d30064253', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['fs/ntfs3/fslog.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '5.15'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '5.15', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '5.15.212', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '5.15.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.1.178', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.6.145', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.6.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.12.97', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.12.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.18.40', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.18.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.2-rc1', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['fs/ntfs3/fslog.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}]
    Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs3: cap RESTART_TABLE free-chain walker at rt->used A crafted NTFS3 disk image triggers an in-kernel infinite loop at mount time, hanging the mounting thread and firing the soft-lockup watchdog within ~22s on multi-CPU hosts (panic with kernel.softlockup_panic=1). The bug is reachable from desktop USB auto-mount on distributions where udisks2 routes the NTFS signature to the in-tree ntfs3 driver (Arch family and an increasing fraction of Fedora / openSUSE / RHEL deployments); CAP_SYS_ADMIN-class manual mount elsewhere. check_rstbl()'s second walker iterates the free-entry singly-linked list headed by rt->first_free with no upper bound on iteration count: for (off = ff; off;) { if (off == RESTART_ENTRY_ALLOCATED) return false; off = le32_to_cpu(*(__le32 *)Add2Ptr(rt, off)); if (off > ts - sizeof(__le32)) return false; } The existing guards cover three exits: end-of-list (off == 0), the in-use marker (off == RESTART_ENTRY_ALLOCATED), and out-of-bounds (off > ts - sizeof(__le32)). None of the three prevents an in-bounds cycle. A crafted on-disk RESTART_TABLE whose free chain contains a self-loop or A->B->A cycle whose offsets satisfy: - in range [sizeof(struct RESTART_TABLE), ts - sizeof(__le32)] - (off - sizeof(struct RESTART_TABLE)) % rsize == 0 passes all existing guards and spins the mount-time thread forever. Reproduced in UML by hand-forging a 2 MB NTFS3 image whose journal RESTART_TABLE first_free = 0x18 and whose entry at offset 0x18 stores 0x18 as its next pointer; mount of the forged image with the in-tree ntfs3 driver never returns. Bound the walker by rt->used. Each entry on a legitimate free chain is unique, and the total slot count is ne = le16_to_cpu (rt->used). A traversal that visits more than ne slots is by construction malformed; reject it as a corrupt RESTART_TABLE. After this patch, mount of the forged image returns with -EINVAL and a log_replay failure message, and mkntfs-produced legitimate images mount cleanly (verified in the same UML harness).
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0fad25687d4d3fa1fdd313d31b9cb5817c425029
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/29b86dbe88cbbef53bb9aaec2e279359f8c450f8
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7972df425687daa70d971fe6ed415e78683133dd
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7ac4c86915c24c208a0f0611b71d9676686fe756
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8128bec895075253c779d67afdc90ae513265fca
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9611f644302c07d21bc8af97e3e06a3d30064253
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d313416280d41bea272f02a6034dfa88008692a0
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
CVSS
Vulnerability Scoring Details
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