CVE-2026-72193

System hang via cyclic NTFS restart table

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

An infinite loop in the Linux ntfs3 driver allows local users to hang a mounting thread by mounting a crafted NTFS disk image. During check_rstbl(), the second free-chain walker follows rt->first_free offsets without an iteration bound, so an in-range self-loop or cycle never terminates. Desktop USB auto-mount can reach the flaw where udisks2 selects ntfs3; manual mounting elsewhere requires CAP_SYS_ADMIN, and the result is a stuck mount thread or kernel panic.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.21%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

An infinite loop in the Linux ntfs3 driver allows local users to hang a mounting thread by mounting a crafted NTFS disk image. During check_rstbl(), the second free-chain walker follows rt->first_free offsets without an iteration bound, so an in-range self-loop or cycle never terminates. Desktop USB auto-mount can reach the flaw where udisks2 selects ntfs3; manual mounting elsewhere requires CAP_SYS_ADMIN, and the result is a stuck mount thread or kernel panic.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72193
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-835, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 15, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=5.15
  2. Affected versionversion=b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445 <0fad25687d4d3fa1fdd313d31b9cb5817c425029
  3. Affected versionversion=b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445 <29b86dbe88cbbef53bb9aaec2e279359f8c450f8
  4. Affected versionversion=b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445 <7972df425687daa70d971fe6ed415e78683133dd
  5. Affected versionversion=b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445 <7ac4c86915c24c208a0f0611b71d9676686fe756
  6. Affected versionversion=b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445 <8128bec895075253c779d67afdc90ae513265fca
  7. Affected versionversion=b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445 <9611f644302c07d21bc8af97e3e06a3d30064253
  8. Affected versionversion=b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445 <d313416280d41bea272f02a6034dfa88008692a0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.15; version=b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445 <0fad25687d4d3fa1fdd313d31b9cb5817c425029; version=b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445 <29b86dbe88cbbef53bb9aaec2e279359f8c450f8; version=b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445 <7972df425687daa70d971fe6ed415e78683133dd; version=b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445 <7ac4c86915c24c208a0f0611b71d9676686fe756; version=b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445 <8128bec895075253c779d67afdc90ae513265fca; version=b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445 <9611f644302c07d21bc8af97e3e06a3d30064253; version=b46acd6a6a627d876898e1c84d3f84902264b445 <d313416280d41bea272f02a6034dfa88008692a0

Published CVSS scores

4.4Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-835Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')
T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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