CVE-2026-72186
Received Received - Intake

NTFS Filesystem Corruption via System File Writes

Vulnerability report for CVE-2026-72186, including description, CVSS score, EPSS score, affected products, exploitability, helpful resources, and attack-flow context.

Publication date: 2026-08-15

Last updated on: 2026-08-15

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: make system files immutable to prevent corruption When a system file such as $Bitmap is exposed via show_sys_files and written from userspace, the volume is corrupted and, because the cluster allocator scans $Bitmap through the same inode's page cache, a write to $Bitmap also deadlocks writeback against the folio it already holds locked. These files are maintained by the driver itself and have no valid reason to be written through the file interface. Mark base metadata files (mft_no < FILE_first_user) as immutable during inode read so the VFS rejects write, mmap, truncate and unlink with -EPERM. Directories are skipped so the root and $Extend remain usable. Internal metadata updates do not go through the VFS write path and are unaffected.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-08-15
Last Modified
2026-08-15
Generated
2026-08-15
AI Q&A
2026-08-15
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
EUVD

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux kernel *

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability in the Linux kernel involves a flaw in the NTFS file system driver. When system files like $Bitmap are exposed and written to from userspace, it can corrupt the volume. Additionally, writing to $Bitmap causes a deadlock during writeback because the cluster allocator scans $Bitmap through the same inode's page cache while holding a lock on the folio.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's NTFS driver and does not have a direct network detection method. Check if your system uses the affected NTFS driver by running uname -a to verify the kernel version. Look for filesystem corruption or deadlocks in system logs using dmesg or journalctl -k.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can lead to filesystem corruption and system crashes due to deadlocks. It may cause data loss or make the system unbootable if critical metadata files are corrupted. Users could experience system instability or inability to access files.

Mitigation Strategies

Update your Linux kernel to the latest stable version that includes the fix for this NTFS vulnerability. Avoid mounting NTFS volumes with show_sys_files enabled. If you must use NTFS, ensure no system files are exposed for write operations.

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