ntfs3: fix out-of-bounds read in ntfs_dir_emit() and hdr_find_e()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · 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: ntfs3: fix out-of-bounds read in ntfs_dir_emit() and hdr_find_e() The bounds check in ntfs_dir_emit() compares fname->name_len (a character count) against e->size (a byte count) without accounting for the 2-byte-per-character UTF-16LE encoding or the ATTR_FILE_NAME header size: if (fname->name_len + sizeof(struct NTFS_DE) > le16_to_cpu(e->size)) This computes: name_len + 16 > e_size The correct check must account for the ATTR_FILE_NAME header (66 bytes before the name) and the UTF-16LE character size (2 bytes each): sizeof(NTFS_DE) + offsetof(ATTR_FILE_NAME, name) + name_len * sizeof(short) > e_size Which computes: 16 + 66 + name_len * 2 > e_size The correct calculation already exists as fname_full_size() in ntfs.h and is used in cmp_fnames(), namei.c, and fslog.c, but was not used in the readdir path. A crafted NTFS image with an index entry containing a small e->size but large fname->name_len bypasses the current check, causing ntfs_utf16_to_nls() to read past the entry boundary. Additionally, add a key_size validation in hdr_find_e() to ensure the declared key_size does not exceed the available entry data, preventing comparison functions from reading past entry boundaries on the lookup path.
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 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 7 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
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-97437
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-fpf4-vw37-hxfh
- 2026-10-03 Fix available: Linux/Linux@0505f1e7bb5b981b6ed62d98b26ddce76142865d, Linux/Linux@2f7d0ec8c10dc7bf7a8c9a9cb169f9a4d1fac2ba, Linux/[email protected] +3 · CNA
- 2026-10-03 3 new references · CNA
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d1f98938e437732c0ecdfc8ee451e12a072f6d07
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0505f1e7bb5b981b6ed62d98b26ddce76142865d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2f7d0ec8c10dc7bf7a8c9a9cb169f9a4d1fac2ba
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ed6da1abeec50db9060d714f03743fe0b63e4fe4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6a8149a20e46086c756c2a9202e377c0b649a0c3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aa1bdbb39f49c5bc9779316891c40005517842a5
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Sources
- CVE-2026-97437 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-97437 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-fpf4-vw37-hxfh · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-97437 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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