Linux Kernel up to 5.15.110/6.1.27/6.2.14/6.3.1 ntfs3 ntfs_read_mft memory leak

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.110/6.1.27/6.2.14/6.3.1. This affects the function ntfs_read_mft of the component ntfs3. This manipulation causes memory leak. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2023-54077. There is not any exploit available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.110/6.1.27/6.2.14/6.3.1 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function ntfs_read_mft of the component ntfs3. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory leak vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-401. The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, which slowly consumes remaining memory. As an impact it is known to affect availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/ntfs3: Fix memory leak if ntfs_read_mft failed Label ATTR_ROOT in ntfs_read_mft() sets is_root = true and ni->ni_flags |= NI_FLAG_DIR, then next attr will goto label ATTR_ALLOC and alloc ni->dir.alloc_run. However two states are not always consistent and can make memory leak. 1) attr_name in ATTR_ROOT does not fit the condition it will set is_root = true but NI_FLAG_DIR is not set. 2) next attr_name in ATTR_ALLOC fits the condition and alloc ni->dir.alloc_run 3) in cleanup function ni_clear(), when NI_FLAG_DIR is set, it frees ni->dir.alloc_run, otherwise it frees ni->file.run 4) because NI_FLAG_DIR is not set in this case, ni->dir.alloc_run is leaked as kmemleak reported: unreferenced object 0xffff888003bc5480 (size 64): backtrace: [<000000003d42e6b0>] __kmalloc_node+0x4e/0x1c0 [<00000000d8e19b8a>] kvmalloc_node+0x39/0x1f0 [<00000000fc3eb5b8>] run_add_entry+0x18a/0xa40 [ntfs3] [<0000000011c9f978>] run_unpack+0x75d/0x8e0 [ntfs3] [<00000000e7cf1819>] run_unpack_ex+0xbc/0x500 [ntfs3] [<00000000bbf0a43d>] ntfs_iget5+0xb25/0x2dd0 [ntfs3] [<00000000a6e50693>] ntfs_fill_super+0x218d/0x3580 [ntfs3] [<00000000b9170608>] get_tree_bdev+0x3fb/0x710 [<000000004833798a>] vfs_get_tree+0x8e/0x280 [<000000006e20b8e6>] path_mount+0xf3c/0x1930 [<000000007bf15a5f>] do_mount+0xf3/0x110 ... Fix this by always setting is_root and NI_FLAG_DIR together.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2023-54077 since 12/24/2025. The exploitation appears to be difficult. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 280011 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2023-54077), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.15.111, 6.1.28, 6.2.15 or 6.3.2 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 3030f2b9b3329db3948c1a145a5493ca6f617d50/1bc6bb657dfb0ab3b94ef6d477ca241bf7b6ec06/93bf79f989688852deade1550fb478b0a4d8daa8/3bb0d3eb475f01744ce6d6e998dfbd80220852a1/bfa434c60157c9793e9b12c9b68ade02aff9f803 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (280011) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2929). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.15.110
• 6.1.0
• 6.1.1
• 6.1.2
• 6.1.3
• 6.1.4
• 6.1.5
• 6.1.6
• 6.1.7
• 6.1.8
• 6.1.9
• 6.1.10
• 6.1.11
• 6.1.12
• 6.1.13
• 6.1.14
• 6.1.15
• 6.1.16
• 6.1.17
• 6.1.18
• 6.1.19
• 6.1.20
• 6.1.21
• 6.1.22
• 6.1.23
• 6.1.24
• 6.1.25
• 6.1.26
• 6.1.27
• 6.2.0
• 6.2.1
• 6.2.2
• 6.2.3
• 6.2.4
• 6.2.5
• 6.2.6
• 6.2.7
• 6.2.8
• 6.2.9
• 6.2.10
• 6.2.11
• 6.2.12
• 6.2.13
• 6.2.14
• 6.3.0
• 6.3.1

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

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