Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4 ntfs3 check_rstbl infinite loop

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Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as problematic has been detected in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4. This issue affects the function check_rstbl of the component ntfs3. This manipulation causes infinite loop. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-72193. The attack is restricted to local execution. No exploit exists.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4. It has been declared as problematic. Affected by this vulnerability is the function check_rstbl of the component ntfs3. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a infinite loop vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-835. The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop. As an impact it is known to affect availability. The summary by CVE is:

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).

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-72193 since 08/09/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. Attacking locally is a requirement. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

Upgrading to version 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97, 6.18.40, 7.1.5 or 7.2-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 8128bec895075253c779d67afdc90ae513265fca/7972df425687daa70d971fe6ed415e78683133dd/7ac4c86915c24c208a0f0611b71d9676686fe756/29b86dbe88cbbef53bb9aaec2e279359f8c450f8/0fad25687d4d3fa1fdd313d31b9cb5817c425029/d313416280d41bea272f02a6034dfa88008692a0/9611f644302c07d21bc8af97e3e06a3d30064253 is able to eliminate this problem.

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CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

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CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.8

VulDB Base Score: 5.0
VulDB Temp Score: 4.8
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Infinite loop
CWE: CWE-835 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.15.212/6.1.178/6.6.145/6.12.97/6.18.40/7.1.5/7.2-rc1
Patch: 8128bec895075253c779d67afdc90ae513265fca/7972df425687daa70d971fe6ed415e78683133dd/7ac4c86915c24c208a0f0611b71d9676686fe756/29b86dbe88cbbef53bb9aaec2e279359f8c450f8/0fad25687d4d3fa1fdd313d31b9cb5817c425029/d313416280d41bea272f02a6034dfa88008692a0/9611f644302c07d21bc8af97e3e06a3d30064253

Timelineinfo

08/09/2026 CVE reserved
08/15/2026 +6 days Advisory disclosed
08/15/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
08/15/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-72193 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-72193
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-390427

Entryinfo

Created: 08/15/2026 11:10
Changes: 08/15/2026 11:10 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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