CVE-2025-71266 PUBLISHED

fs: ntfs3: check return value of indx_find to avoid infinite loop

Assigner: Linux
Reserved: 17.03.2026 Published: 18.03.2026 Updated: 18.03.2026

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

fs: ntfs3: check return value of indx_find to avoid infinite loop

We found an infinite loop bug in the ntfs3 file system that can lead to a Denial-of-Service (DoS) condition.

A malformed dentry in the ntfs3 filesystem can cause the kernel to hang during the lookup operations. By setting the HAS_SUB_NODE flag in an INDEX_ENTRY within a directory's INDEX_ALLOCATION block and manipulating the VCN pointer, an attacker can cause the indx_find() function to repeatedly read the same block, allocating 4 KB of memory each time. The kernel lacks VCN loop detection and depth limits, causing memory exhaustion and an OOM crash.

This patch adds a return value check for fnd_push() to prevent a memory exhaustion vulnerability caused by infinite loops. When the index exceeds the size of the fnd->nodes array, fnd_push() returns -EINVAL. The indx_find() function checks this return value and stops processing, preventing further memory allocation.

Product Status

Vendor Linux
Product Linux
Versions Default: unaffected
  • affected from 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 to 14c3188afbedfd5178bbabb8002487ea14b37b56 (excl.)
  • affected from 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 to 435d34719db0e130f6f0c621d67ed524cc1a7d10 (excl.)
  • affected from 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 to 68e32694be231c1cdb99b7637a657314e88e1a96 (excl.)
  • affected from 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 to 398e768d1accd1f5645492ab996005d7aa84a5b0 (excl.)
  • affected from 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 to b0ea441f44ce64fa514a415d4a9e6e2b06e7946c (excl.)
  • affected from 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 to 0ad7a1be44479503dbe5c699759861ef5b8bd70c (excl.)
  • affected from 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 to 1732053c8a6b360e2d5afb1b34fe9779398b072c (excl.)
Vendor Linux
Product Linux
Versions Default: affected
  • unaffected from 5.15.202 to 5.15.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 6.1.165 to 6.1.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 6.6.128 to 6.6.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 6.12.75 to 6.12.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 6.18.16 to 6.18.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 6.19.6 to 6.19.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 7.0-rc1 to * (incl.)

References