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TI-2026-75667 Aliases CVE-2026-98539GHSA-fgm8-xgjp-8vhv

Race condition in Linux kernel ntfs3 corrupts directory inode locks

Priority LOW 22Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
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Privileges required
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User interaction
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Attack complexity
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Impact type
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Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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Fix status
Fixed

No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA.

Summary

The Linux kernel from 5.15 contains a race in the ntfs3 filesystem driver's ntfs_create_inode() function. The new inode is made visible before its lock state is finalized, so a concurrent mount or path walk can reset a directory's rw semaphore while another task still holds it. An attacker who can create a directory on an ntfs3 image while another task mounts on it can trigger kernel warnings and hang later locking on that directory.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06

Description from the CNA

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/ntfs3: use d_instantiate_new() in ntfs_create_inode() and murder syzbot's "WARNING in do_new_mount" saga ntfs_create_inode() creates a new inode via ntfs_new_inode(). It hashes it with insert_inode_locked() and so it's marked as I_NEW until unlock_new_inode(). ntfs 3 calls d_instantiate() in between though... Since the dentry was already hashed by the lookup before the create any path walk finds it without touching the parent's i_rwsem and so can lock the inode. If the inode is a directory unlock_new_inode() calls lockdep_annotate_inode_mutex_key() and marks i_rwsem with the i_mutex_dir_key class. That resets the count and the owner of a lock somebody else may already hold by now... syzbot has been spamming us with the same godforsaken bug "WARNING in do_new_mount" since 2023. I can't take it anymore so I went looking. Afaict, syzbot's executor chdirs into a freshly mounted ntfs3 image, creates a directory and then mounts some pseudofs on it. Everytime the mkdir() takes longer than syzbot waits mount() runs concurrently: mkdir("./sys") mount(NULL, "./sys", "sysfs") ntfs_create_inode() d_instantiate() user_path_at() finds the dentry do_lock_mount() inode_lock(inode) namespace_lock() unlock_new_inode() lockdep_annotate_inode_mutex_key() init_rwsem(&inode->i_rwsem) unlock_mount() inode_unlock(inode) The mount side then releases a lock that according to the rwsem nobody holds: DEBUG_RWSEMS_WARN_ON((rwsem_owner(sem) != current) && ...): count = 0x0, magic = 0xffff888043a854e8, owner = 0x0, curr 0xffff888000244880, list empty WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 5346 at kernel/locking/rwsem.c:1368 __up_write Call Trace: inode_unlock include/linux/fs.h:877 [inline] unlock_mount fs/namespace.c:2892 [inline] do_new_mount_fc fs/namespace.c:3828 [inline] do_new_mount+0x777/0xa40 fs/namespace.c:3887 On PREEMPT_RT the same thing shows up as DEBUG_LOCKS_WARN_ON(rt_mutex_owner(lock) != current) WARNING: kernel/locking/rtmutex_common.h:193 at rt_mutex_slowunlock The up_write() underflows the reset count. A following inode_lock() on that directory then never returns. A path walk into the new directory racing with the mkdir() corrupts the lock the same way via inode_lock_shared() in lookup_slow(). Switch to d_instantiate_new() and drop the trailing unlock_new_inode(). All error paths bail out before that point with I_NEW still set and keep using discard_new_inode(). May we never see this fscking bug report again.

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.00209 11th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Fixed Linux (Linux): 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9 +1

SSVC decision points

Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
LinuxLinux5.15 and later6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 7.3Patch availableCNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.15 and later Fixed in 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 7.3 Patch available CNA

CPE names Threatist (inferred) · 1

Inferred from how NVD named this product before; not given by a source.

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*——Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·Linux

Remediation

Linux kernel fixed versions are 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9 and 7.3.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06

  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 7.3

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

  1. 2026-10-18 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98539
  2. 2026-10-18 Alias added: GHSA-fgm8-xgjp-8vhv
  3. 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
  4. 2026-10-20 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
  5. 2026-10-20 CVSS score added · Red Hat
  6. 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat

References

  • 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
See all 21741 →

Sources