Linux Kernel up to 6.18.15/6.19.5 ntfs d_compare comparison

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.15/6.19.5. Affected is the function d_compare of the component ntfs. Performing a manipulation results in comparison. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-43245. There is no available exploit. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.15/6.19.5. This affects the function d_compare of the component ntfs. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a comparison vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-697. The product compares two entities in a security-relevant context, but the comparison is incorrect, which may lead to resultant weaknesses. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: ->d_compare() must not block ... so don't use __getname() there. Switch it (and ntfs_d_hash(), while we are at it) to kmalloc(PATH_MAX, GFP_NOWAIT). Yes, ntfs_d_hash() almost certainly can do with smaller allocations, but let ntfs folks deal with that - keep the allocation size as-is for now. Stop abusing names_cachep in ntfs, period - various uses of that thing in there have nothing to do with pathnames; just use k[mz]alloc() and be done with that. For now let's keep sizes as-in, but AFAICS none of the users actually want PATH_MAX.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-43245 since 05/01/2026. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 06/21/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 321868 (Debian dsa-6355 : ata-modules-6.12.90+deb13-armmp-di - security update), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.18.16 or 6.19.6 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 142c444a395f4d26055c8a4473e228bb86283f1e/fb4b1f969ba01fa1d4088467a02fc1e5f0806710/ca2a04e84af79596e5cd9cfe697d5122ec39c8ce 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 vulnerability database at Tenable (321868). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.19.0
• 6.19.1
• 6.19.2
• 6.19.3
• 6.19.4
• 6.19.5

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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