Linux Kernel NTFS race condition

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Linux Kernel. This issue affects the function ntfs_file_fsync/ntfs_dir_fsync/__ntfs_write_inode/ntfs_rename of the component NTFS. Such manipulation leads to race condition. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-72190. The attack may be launched remotely. There is no exploit available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel (version unknown) and classified as critical. Affected by this issue is the function ntfs_file_fsync/ntfs_dir_fsync/__ntfs_write_inode/ntfs_rename of the component NTFS. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a race condition vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-362. The product contains a code sequence that can run concurrently with other code, and the code sequence requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence that is operating concurrently. Impacted is availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: fix mrec_lock ABBA deadlock in rename ntfs_file_fsync(), ntfs_dir_fsync() and __ntfs_write_inode() lock an inode's mrec_lock before taking the mrec_lock of its parent directory. ntfs_rename() takes old_ni->mrec_lock and old_dir_ni->mrec_lock before taking new_ni->mrec_lock for an existing target, or new_dir_ni->mrec_lock for a cross-directory rename. This can deadlock when ntfs_file_fsync() or __ntfs_write_inode() holds the target inode, or when ntfs_dir_fsync() holds a child target directory, while rename() holds the parent directory and waits for the target. Fix this by locking the existing target inode before taking any parent directory mrec_lock. For cross-directory renames where the target parent is a descendant of the source parent, lock the target parent before the source parent so the directory order matches the child-to-parent order used by ntfs_file_fsync(), ntfs_dir_fsync(), and __ntfs_write_inode().

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-72190 since 08/09/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be launched remotely. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/15/2026).

Applying the patch b3d09502b80dfe0bab9090ca532710da389f6c7f/eb94f5a41a193a425e09a63cb75dffd151d8f42e is able to eliminate this problem.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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