Host crash via uninitialized HPFS buffer release
Published Jul 19, 2026 · Updated Jul 19, 2026
Memory corruption in the Linux Kernel HPFS component allows local users to crash the host through a crafted filesystem image. When hpfs_map_dnode_bitmap fails during a directory operation, the HPFS allocation path calls hpfs_brelse4 on an uninitialized quad_buffer_head, releasing stack-garbage pointers. Triggering the flaw requires mounting the image and write access to the mountpoint; CAP_SYS_ADMIN inside an unprivileged user namespace is sufficient, and the result is a kernel oops or panic.
Summary
What happened
Memory corruption in the Linux Kernel HPFS component allows local users to crash the host through a crafted filesystem image. When hpfs_map_dnode_bitmap fails during a directory operation, the HPFS allocation path calls hpfs_brelse4 on an uninitialized quad_buffer_head, releasing stack-garbage pointers. Triggering the flaw requires mounting the image and write access to the mountpoint; CAP_SYS_ADMIN inside an unprivileged user namespace is sufficient, and the result is a kernel oops or panic.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-63954
- Published
- Jul 19, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 19, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-824, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 19, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 19, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <5.10.259
- Affected versionversion=0 <5.15.210
- Affected versionversion=0 <6.1.176
- Affected versionversion=0 <6.12.93
- Affected versionversion=0 <6.18.35
- Affected versionversion=0 <6.6.143
- Affected versionversion=0 <7.0.12
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <010b08084000ef018f1a8de5197087f3b91d8cfe
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <0886c6f257fe3663f80218aa1919b0f3f21bf22c
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <1648a3c7f4e18f46a4881920133fc4f2494185a0
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <1d73a533760bc5abb83b3cc759133596f7bb708f
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <4f37bb30b57d6d403d02673074555bd3c3602bef
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <7c58c55a2a16f7274772507bd1637be609351b4f
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <974820a59efde7c1a7e1260bcfe9bb81f833cc9f
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <d98d8562b3284b5a5c8eb67e71b794508e46e288
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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