Medium · published March 18, 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 | Versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| linux/linux_kernel | ≥ 5.15.1, < 5.15.202 | 5.15.202 |
| linux/linux_kernel | ≥ 5.16, < 6.1.165 | 6.1.165 |
| linux/linux_kernel | ≥ 6.2, < 6.6.128 | 6.6.128 |
| linux/linux_kernel | ≥ 6.7, < 6.12.75 | 6.12.75 |
| linux/linux_kernel | ≥ 6.13, < 6.18.16 | 6.18.16 |
| linux/linux_kernel | ≥ 6.19, < 6.19.6 | 6.19.6 |
| linux/linux_kernel | all versions | — |