CVE-2026-72199

Technical Description

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

ntfs: validate resident index root values on lookup

Resident $INDEX_ROOT values carry index header fields that callers

consume after lookup. Some callers already validate parts of the layout

before walking entries, but those checks are scattered and do not cover

all root header invariants, such as entries_offset alignment and lower

bound, index_length, and allocated_size consistency.

The resident root resize paths now keep these header fields consistent

while the value size changes: ntfs_ir_truncate() lowers

index.allocated_size before shrinking the resident value, and

ntfs_ir_reparent() grows the resident value before publishing a larger

root header. Lookup-time validation can therefore cover these invariants

without tripping over the driver's own resize paths.

Add $INDEX_ROOT to the minimum resident value size table and validate the

resident index header fields before returning the attribute from lookup.

Require

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

References