Silent symlink creation failure via ignored index error
Published Sep 25, 2026 · Updated Sep 25, 2026
Error handling in the Linux kernel NTFS reparse-data path in 7.1 allows local users to receive false success for failed symlink creation. update_reparse_data() discards the return value from set_reparse_index(), removes newly written reparse data after an insertion failure, and still returns success. Reachability requires an NTFS volume and an index-insertion failure; the result is an absent symlink or WSL special file rather than code execution or data disclosure.
Summary
What happened
Error handling in the Linux kernel NTFS reparse-data path in 7.1 allows local users to receive false success for failed symlink creation. update_reparse_data() discards the return value from set_reparse_index(), removes newly written reparse data after an insertion failure, and still returns success. Reachability requires an NTFS volume and an index-insertion failure; the result is an absent symlink or WSL special file rather than code execution or data disclosure.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98141
- Published
- Sep 25, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 25, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 25, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=7.1
- Affected versionversion=fc053f05ca282a5e760b41f6560ac835c4e28037 <9692b1b4fc00cf89628bc43f71729ab21f14f8d3
- Affected versionversion=fc053f05ca282a5e760b41f6560ac835c4e28037 <c62f446c63398dc7151f413069bf617032cf7a71
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What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
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Technologies
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