Linux Kernel up to 7.2.7/7.3-rc3 NTFS race condition

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.7/7.3-rc3. This vulnerability affects the function ntfs_non_resident_attr_shrink/ntfs_attr_map_cluster of the component NTFS. This manipulation causes race condition. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-98315. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.7/7.3-rc3 and classified as very critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function ntfs_non_resident_attr_shrink/ntfs_attr_map_cluster of the component NTFS. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a race condition vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is 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. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: protect runlist updates with the runlist lock ntfs_non_resident_attr_shrink() calls runlist helpers that require the runlist write lock, but did not hold it while freeing clusters and truncating the runlist. Serialize those operations and the resident conversion with the runlist lock. ntfs_attr_map_cluster() can merge a newly allocated run before updating mapping pairs. If the update fails, free the clusters and restore both the in-memory runlist and on-disk mapping pairs from a saved runlist. Mark the volume in error if either rollback step fails.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-98315 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. 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 10/06/2026).

Upgrading to version 7.2.8 or 7.3-rc4 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 742797432e8c9b0dd54ecc523c185e26b09d79a0/91709ba5d6d709b2b663287b7e871e2c6b480502 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5
• 7.2.6
• 7.2.7
• 7.3-rc1
• 7.3-rc2
• 7.3-rc3

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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