ntfs: make system files immutable to prevent corruption
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
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.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 7.1.5, 7.2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 5 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-72186
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-cpf7-qp55-xqgv
References
More Linux vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2021-02452 Incorrect authorization in Ubuntu linux kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
Sources
- CVE-2026-72186 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-72186 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-cpf7-qp55-xqgv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-72186 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences