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CVE-2026-97439

Linux: fs/ntfs3: preserve non-DOS attribute bits in system.dos_attrib

Linux LinuxOperating systems
CVSS
NoneNot scored
ExploitationNo known exploitationNot in CISA KEV, which does not prove it is unexploitedCISA KEV
Exploit odds (EPSS)0.17%Chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 6% of CVEs. Scored 23 Oct 2026FIRST EPSS
Fixed in533217b90addd57cc16f1c974e023c72d18949c7Also 2de91ae285b0b878604d2bd83c3c395a8071e482, 407ee19828a7d9700969ed9cc53be50d0f533619CVE List
Published24 Sep 2026Updated 3 Oct 2026CVE List

What fixes it

  • 533217b90addd57cc16f1c974e023c72d18949c7LinuxCVE List
  • 2de91ae285b0b878604d2bd83c3c395a8071e482LinuxCVE List
  • 407ee19828a7d9700969ed9cc53be50d0f533619LinuxCVE List

A fixed version on one release line is not the upgrade target for every line. Check your exact version and any vendor backports.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

fs/ntfs3: preserve non-DOS attribute bits in system.dos_attrib

[BUG] A corrupted ntfs3 image can hit a NULL function pointer call in generic_perform_write() after toggling system.ntfs_attrib and then overwriting system.dos_attrib on the same file.

BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 \#PF: supervisor instruction fetch in kernel mode \#PF: error_code(0x0010) - not-present page PGD bed5067 P4D bed5067 PUD 0 Oops: Oops: 0010 [#1] SMP KASAN NOPTI RIP: 0010:0x0 Code: Unable to access opcode bytes at 0xffffffffffffffd6. RSP: 0018:ffff88801025f988 EFLAGS: 00010246 Call Trace: generic_perform_write+0x409/0x8c0 mm/filemap.c:4255 __generic_file_write_iter+0x1bb/0x200 mm/filemap.c:4372 ntfs_file_write_iter+0xcd9/0x1c20 fs/ntfs3/file.c:1253 new_sync_write fs/read_write.c:593 [inline] vfs_write+0x63b/0xf70 fs/read_write.c:686 ksys_write+0x133/0x250 fs/read_write.c:738 __do_sys_write fs/read_write.c:749 [inline] __se_sys_write fs/read_write.c:746 [inline] __x64_sys_write+0x77/0xc0 fs/read_write.c:746 ...

[CAUSE] system.ntfs_attrib updates ATTR_DATA flags via ni_new_attr_flags() and switches i_mapping->a_ops to ntfs_aops_cmpr when FILE_ATTRIBUTE_COMPRESSED is set. system.dos_attrib then overwrites ni->std_fa from a one-byte DOS attribute value, clearing the compression bit without updating ATTR_DATA or the mapping operations.

Old buffered writes use is_compressed(ni) to choose __generic_file_write_iter(). That leaves generic_perform_write() calling a NULL write_begin callback from ntfs_aops_cmpr.

[FIX] Treat system.dos_attrib as a low-byte DOS attribute update and preserve the existing non-DOS attribute bits in ni->std_fa. This keeps compressed and sparse state consistent with ATTR_DATA and the mapping operations while keeping the existing DOS attribute semantics intact.

Text from CVE List

Affected versions 14

  • Linuxaffected: be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 before 533217b90addd57cc16f1c974e023c72d18949c7CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 before f2d6bc89e2236939df189831707c8cdad199f57aCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 before fdc9f65aa6631df04238c6154713bacd5133d77cCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 before 2de91ae285b0b878604d2bd83c3c395a8071e482CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 before 407ee19828a7d9700969ed9cc53be50d0f533619CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 before b1c1101067d9536bcb0fe023b96ee2dde5535959CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 5.15CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: all versions before 5.15CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 5.15.222 through 5.15.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.1.189 through 6.1.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.6.158 through 6.6.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.12.111 through 6.12.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.18.53 through 6.18.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 7.2CVE List

References 6