Uninitialized Memory Exposure in Linux Kernel NTFS3

Publication date: 2026-05-27

Last updated on: 2026-06-25

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/ntfs3: Initialize new folios before use KMSAN reports an uninitialized value in longest_match_std(), invoked from ntfs_compress_write(). When new folios are allocated without being marked uptodate and ni_read_frame() is skipped because the caller expects the frame to be completely overwritten, some reserved folios may remain only partially filled, leaving the rest memory uninitialized.

CVSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-05-27

Last Modified

2026-06-25

Generated

2026-07-06

AI Q&A

2026-05-27

EPSS Evaluated

2026-07-05

NVD

CVE-2025-71311

EUVD

EUVD-2025-209965

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.13 (inc) to 6.18.14 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.19 (inc) to 6.19.4 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.11 (inc) to 6.12.75 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-908	The product uses or accesses a resource that has not been initialized.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's NTFS3 filesystem driver. It occurs because new folios (memory pages) are allocated without being properly initialized or marked as up-to-date before use. Specifically, when the function ntfs_compress_write() calls longest_match_std(), some folios may remain only partially filled, leaving parts of the memory uninitialized. This can lead to the use of uninitialized memory values.

Impact Analysis

The impact of this vulnerability is related to the use of uninitialized memory in the Linux kernel's NTFS3 driver. Using uninitialized memory can lead to unpredictable behavior, including potential information leaks or system instability. However, the exact impact depends on how the uninitialized memory is accessed or exploited.

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