CVE-2025-71312
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Memory Leak in Linux Kernel NTFS3 Filesystem

Publication date: 2026-05-27

Last updated on: 2026-05-27

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/ntfs3: fix ntfs_mount_options leak in ntfs_fill_super() In ntfs_fill_super(), the fc->fs_private pointer is set to NULL without first freeing the memory it points to. This causes the subsequent call to ntfs_fs_free() to skip freeing the ntfs_mount_options structure. This results in a kmemleak report: unreferenced object 0xff1100015378b800 (size 32): comm "mount", pid 582, jiffies 4294890685 hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ed ff ed ff 00 04 00 00 ................ backtrace (crc ed541d8c): __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x424/0x5a0 __ntfs_init_fs_context+0x47/0x590 alloc_fs_context+0x5d8/0x960 __x64_sys_fsopen+0xb1/0x190 do_syscall_64+0x50/0x1f0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e This issue can be reproduced using the following commands: fallocate -l 100M test.file mount test.file /tmp/test Since sbi->options is duplicated from fc->fs_private and does not directly use the memory allocated for fs_private, it is unnecessary to set fc->fs_private to NULL. Additionally, this patch simplifies the code by utilizing the helper function put_mount_options() instead of open-coding the cleanup logic.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-05-27
Last Modified
2026-05-27
Generated
2026-06-16
AI Q&A
2026-05-27
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-15
NVD
CVE-2025-71312
EUVD
EUVD-2025-209966
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *
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Exploitability
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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN
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Executive Summary

This vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's NTFS3 filesystem driver, specifically in the function ntfs_fill_super(). The issue is that the pointer fc->fs_private is set to NULL without first freeing the memory it points to. Because of this, the subsequent call to ntfs_fs_free() does not free the ntfs_mount_options structure, causing a memory leak.

This memory leak is detected by kmemleak, which reports an unreferenced object allocated during the mount process. The problem arises because sbi->options is a duplicate of fc->fs_private and does not use the same memory, so setting fc->fs_private to NULL is unnecessary and leads to the leak.

The patch to fix this vulnerability simplifies the code by using the helper function put_mount_options() to properly clean up the memory instead of manually handling it.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability causes a memory leak in the Linux kernel when mounting NTFS filesystems. Over time, repeated exploitation of this issue could lead to increased memory usage and potentially degrade system performance or stability.

However, this vulnerability does not directly lead to privilege escalation, data corruption, or remote code execution. Its impact is primarily related to resource consumption on the affected system.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by observing kmemleak reports indicating unreferenced memory objects related to ntfs_mount_options not being freed properly.

A reproduction of the issue involves creating a file and mounting it as an NTFS filesystem, which can be done using the following commands:

  • fallocate -l 100M test.file
  • mount test.file /tmp/test

Monitoring kmemleak reports after running these commands can help detect the presence of this vulnerability.

Mitigation Strategies

The vulnerability has been resolved by fixing the ntfs_fill_super() function to properly free the memory pointed to by fc->fs_private before setting it to NULL.

Immediate mitigation involves updating the Linux kernel to a version that includes this fix.

Additionally, the patch simplifies cleanup by using the helper function put_mount_options() instead of manual cleanup logic.

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