Linux vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs3: fix out-of-bounds read in ntfs_dir_emit() and hdr_find_e() The bounds check in ntfs_dir_emit() compares fname->name_len (a character count) against e->size (a byte count) without accounting for the 2-byte-per-character UTF-16LE encoding or the ATTR_FILE_NAME header size: if (fname->name_len + sizeof(struct NTFS_DE) > le16_to_cpu(e->size)) This computes: name_len + 16 > e_size The correct check must account for the ATTR_FILE_NAME header (66 bytes before the name) and the UTF-16LE character size (2 bytes each): sizeof(NTFS_DE) + offsetof(ATTR_FILE_NAME, name) + name_len * sizeof(short) > e_size Which computes: 16 + 66 + name_len * 2 > e_size The correct calculation already exists as fname_full_size() in ntfs.h and is used in cmp_fnames(), namei.c, and fslog.c, but was not used in the readdir path. A crafted NTFS image with an index entry containing a small e->size but large fname->name_len bypasses the current check, causing ntfs_utf16_to_nls() to read past the entry boundary. Additionally, add a key_size validation in hdr_find_e() to ensure the declared key_size does not exceed the available entry data, preventing comparison functions from reading past entry boundaries on the lookup path.

Published 24 Sep 2026Updated 25 Sep 20263 sources
CVSS 7.1

What happened

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs3: fix out-of-bounds read in ntfs_dir_emit() and hdr_find_e() The bounds check in ntfs_dir_emit() compares fname->name_len (a character count) against e->size (a byte count) without accounting for the 2-byte-per-character UTF-16LE encoding or the ATTR_FILE_NAME header size: if (fname->name_len + sizeof(struct NTFS_DE) > le16_to_cpu(e->size)) This computes: name_len + 16 > e_size The correct check must account for the ATTR_FILE_NAME header (66 bytes before the name) and the UTF-16LE character size (2 bytes each): sizeof(NTFS_DE) + offsetof(ATTR_FILE_NAME, name) + name_len * sizeof(short) > e_size Which computes: 16 + 66 + name_len * 2 > e_size The correct calculation already exists as fname_full_size() in ntfs.h and is used in cmp_fnames(), namei.c, and fslog.c, but was not used in the readdir path. A crafted NTFS image with an index entry containing a small e->size but large fname->name_len bypasses the current check, causing ntfs_utf16_to_nls() to read past the entry boundary. Additionally, add a key_size validation in hdr_find_e() to ensure the declared key_size does not exceed the available entry data, preventing comparison functions from reading past entry boundaries on the lookup path.

Affected versions

Linux: 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 through before ed6da1abeec50db9060d714f03743fe0b63e4fe4 (git); 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 through before 6a8149a20e46086c756c2a9202e377c0b649a0c3 (git); 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 through before aa1bdbb39f49c5bc9779316891c40005517842a5 (git); before 6.12.111 (semver); before 6.18.53 (semver) Fixed: See vendor advisory.

Why it matters

Review the vendor advisory and exposure of the affected product to determine operational impact.

Detection & mitigation

  • Apply vendor-provided updates or mitigations.
  • Review affected product exposure and access logs.

Public PoC references

No public PoC reference has passed the current publication threshold.