CVE-2026-72204

Received Received - Intake

NTFS Index Root Header Validation Flaw

Publication date: 2026-08-15

Last updated on: 2026-08-18

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: centalize $INDEX_ROOT header validation Add a dedicated helper to perform stricter validation of $INDEX_ROOT and use it for both directory inodes and named index inodes. This keeps the root size and header geometry checks consistent across both read paths.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-08-15

Last Modified

2026-08-18

Generated

2026-09-04

AI Q&A

2026-08-15

EPSS Evaluated

2026-09-03

NVD

CVE-2026-72204

EUVD

EUVD-2026-58962

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
linux_kernel	linux_kernel	*
linux	linux_kernel	*

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability in the Linux kernel involves improving the validation of $INDEX_ROOT headers in the NTFS file system. A dedicated helper function was added to enforce stricter checks on root size and header geometry during reads of directory and named index inodes. This ensures consistency and reduces potential inconsistencies or errors in handling NTFS metadata.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's NTFS file system handling. Detection requires checking kernel versions and NTFS-related logs or errors. Use commands like 'uname -a' to check kernel version and 'dmesg | grep NTFS' to look for NTFS-related errors. If patched, check for the fix in kernel release notes.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability may lead to filesystem corruption or crashes if NTFS metadata is malformed. Users relying on NTFS partitions could experience data loss or system instability when accessing directories or files with invalid index root headers.

Mitigation Strategies

Update the Linux kernel to the latest patched version to resolve the NTFS $INDEX_ROOT validation issue.

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