CVE-2026-64431 (GCVE-0-2026-64431)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-07-25 08:51 – Updated: 2026-08-17 04:55
VLAI
Title
ntfs: avoid calling post_write_mst_fixup() for invalid index_block
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: avoid calling post_write_mst_fixup() for invalid index_block ntfs_icx_ib_sync_write() calls post_write_mst_fixup() when ntfs_ib_write() returns an error, intending to restore the buffer after a failed write. However, ntfs_ib_write() returns an error immediately if pre_write_mst_fixup() validation fails. The caller, ntfs_icx_ib_sync_write(), interprets any error as a write failure requiring rollback. It does not differentiate between I/O errors and validation failures, and calls post_write_mst_fixup() anyway. Since post_write_mst_fixup() assumes that the index_block contents is correct, it doesn't perform the boundary checks, which results in out-of-bounds memory access. An attacker can craft a malicious NTFS image with: - large index_block.usa_ofs offset, pointing outside the ntfs_record - index_block.usa_count = 0, causing integer underflow - or index_block.usa_count larger than actual number of sectors in the ntfs_record, causing out-of-bounds access KASAN reports describing the memory corruption: ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in post_write_mst_fixup+0x19c/0x1d0 Read of size 2 at addr ffff8881586c9018 by task p/9428 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x100/0x190 print_report+0x139/0x4ad ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x19c/0x1d0 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x262/0x500 ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x19c/0x1d0 kasan_report+0xe4/0x1d0 ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x19c/0x1d0 post_write_mst_fixup+0x19c/0x1d0 ntfs_icx_ib_sync_write+0x179/0x220 ntfs_inode_sync_filename+0x83d/0x1080 __ntfs_write_inode+0x1049/0x1480 ntfs_file_fsync+0x131/0x9b0 ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in post_write_mst_fixup+0x1aa/0x1d0 Write of size 2 at addr ffff8881586c91fe by task p/9428 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x100/0x190 print_report+0x139/0x4ad ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x1aa/0x1d0 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x262/0x500 ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x1aa/0x1d0 kasan_report+0xe4/0x1d0 ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x1aa/0x1d0 post_write_mst_fixup+0x1aa/0x1d0 ntfs_icx_ib_sync_write+0x179/0x220 ntfs_inode_sync_filename+0x83d/0x1080 __ntfs_write_inode+0x1049/0x1480 ntfs_file_fsync+0x131/0x9b0 ================================================================== Let's move the post_write_mst_fixup() call to ntfs_ib_write(). The ntfs_ib_write() function calls pre_write_mst_fixup() at the beginning. If the index_block contents is invalid, pre_write_mst_fixup() fails and ntfs_ib_write() returns early without calling post_write_mst_fixup() on bad index_block.
Severity
7.8 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Assigner
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version CPE status
Linux Linux Affected: 0a8ac0c1fa0b99a5b29002bc7f232ed7eafddef0 , < e2018628301a6d9f54e34b0cb417f1688c66df1d (git)
Affected: 0a8ac0c1fa0b99a5b29002bc7f232ed7eafddef0 , < 5b6eedd7cc2936f9238e852b553a1b326105bde8 (git)
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Linux Linux Affected: 7.1
Unaffected: 0 , < 7.1 (semver)
Unaffected: 7.1.4 , ≤ 7.1.* (semver)
Unaffected: 7.2 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Show details on NVD website
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          "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nntfs: avoid calling post_write_mst_fixup() for invalid index_block\n\nntfs_icx_ib_sync_write() calls post_write_mst_fixup() when ntfs_ib_write()\nreturns an error, intending to restore the buffer after a failed write.\n\nHowever, ntfs_ib_write() returns an error immediately if\npre_write_mst_fixup() validation fails. The caller,\nntfs_icx_ib_sync_write(), interprets any error as a write failure\nrequiring rollback. It does not differentiate between I/O errors and\nvalidation failures, and calls post_write_mst_fixup() anyway.\n\nSince post_write_mst_fixup() assumes that the index_block contents is\ncorrect, it doesn\u0027t perform the boundary checks, which results in\nout-of-bounds memory access.\n\nAn attacker can craft a malicious NTFS image with:\n  - large index_block.usa_ofs offset, pointing outside the ntfs_record\n  - index_block.usa_count = 0, causing integer underflow\n  - or index_block.usa_count larger than actual number of sectors in the\n    ntfs_record, causing out-of-bounds access\n\nKASAN reports describing the memory corruption:\n  ==================================================================\n  BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in post_write_mst_fixup+0x19c/0x1d0\n  Read of size 2 at addr ffff8881586c9018 by task p/9428\n  Call Trace:\n   \u003cTASK\u003e\n   dump_stack_lvl+0x100/0x190\n   print_report+0x139/0x4ad\n   ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x19c/0x1d0\n   ? __virt_addr_valid+0x262/0x500\n   ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x19c/0x1d0\n   kasan_report+0xe4/0x1d0\n   ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x19c/0x1d0\n   post_write_mst_fixup+0x19c/0x1d0\n   ntfs_icx_ib_sync_write+0x179/0x220\n   ntfs_inode_sync_filename+0x83d/0x1080\n   __ntfs_write_inode+0x1049/0x1480\n   ntfs_file_fsync+0x131/0x9b0\n  ==================================================================\n  BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in post_write_mst_fixup+0x1aa/0x1d0\n  Write of size 2 at addr ffff8881586c91fe by task p/9428\n  Call Trace:\n   \u003cTASK\u003e\n   dump_stack_lvl+0x100/0x190\n   print_report+0x139/0x4ad\n   ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x1aa/0x1d0\n   ? __virt_addr_valid+0x262/0x500\n   ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x1aa/0x1d0\n   kasan_report+0xe4/0x1d0\n   ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x1aa/0x1d0\n   post_write_mst_fixup+0x1aa/0x1d0\n   ntfs_icx_ib_sync_write+0x179/0x220\n   ntfs_inode_sync_filename+0x83d/0x1080\n   __ntfs_write_inode+0x1049/0x1480\n   ntfs_file_fsync+0x131/0x9b0\n  ==================================================================\n\nLet\u0027s move the post_write_mst_fixup() call to ntfs_ib_write().\nThe ntfs_ib_write() function calls pre_write_mst_fixup() at the beginning.\nIf the index_block contents is invalid, pre_write_mst_fixup() fails and\nntfs_ib_write() returns early without calling post_write_mst_fixup() on\nbad index_block."
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              "value": "AV:L - The malformed USA fields originate in a crafted NTFS volume, and exploitation proceeds through local file modification followed by fsync or writeback. Network file access alone cannot create the required malformed index metadata.\nAC:L - The attacker controls the index block, USA offset/count, target filename, and triggering operation; no race or condition outside attacker control is required. The usa_count underflow provides a deterministic corruption path.\nPR:L - Although a direct NTFS mount requires initial-namespace CAP_SYS_ADMIN because NTFS lacks FS_USERNS_MOUNT, delegated or automatic mounting allows an ordinary local user to reach the trigger. After mounting, only write access to the crafted file is needed and no capability check occurs.\nUI:N - In reasonable automount, delegated-mount, or fstab-user deployments, no separate victim action is required. The attacker can mount or access the volume, modify the writable file, and invoke fsync independently.\nS:U - The corruption occurs in the host kernel and compromises resources governed by that same kernel security authority. This is standard local kernel privilege escalation rather than a guest-to-host or IOMMU boundary escape.\nC:H - Unchecked USA metadata causes substantial out-of-bounds reads, and the accompanying kernel heap corruption can be leveraged to disclose arbitrary kernel memory. The reads are not confined to a small bounded value.\nI:H - An underflowed usa_count produces up to 65,535 two-byte writes at 512-byte intervals, spanning roughly 32 MiB beyond the index-block allocation. Attacker-controlled initial source values and heap grooming make control-flow hijacking or arbitrary kernel modification defensible.\nA:H - The extensive out-of-bounds access can corrupt unrelated kernel objects or access invalid memory, causing an oops, panic, or system-wide failure. The trigger is repeatable through local filesystem operations."
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    "cveId": "CVE-2026-64431",
    "datePublished": "2026-07-25T08:51:07.194Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-07-19T15:36:31.787Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-08-17T04:55:32.047Z",
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            "lang": "en",
            "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nntfs: avoid calling post_write_mst_fixup() for invalid index_block\n\nntfs_icx_ib_sync_write() calls post_write_mst_fixup() when ntfs_ib_write()\nreturns an error, intending to restore the buffer after a failed write.\n\nHowever, ntfs_ib_write() returns an error immediately if\npre_write_mst_fixup() validation fails. The caller,\nntfs_icx_ib_sync_write(), interprets any error as a write failure\nrequiring rollback. It does not differentiate between I/O errors and\nvalidation failures, and calls post_write_mst_fixup() anyway.\n\nSince post_write_mst_fixup() assumes that the index_block contents is\ncorrect, it doesn\u0027t perform the boundary checks, which results in\nout-of-bounds memory access.\n\nAn attacker can craft a malicious NTFS image with:\n  - large index_block.usa_ofs offset, pointing outside the ntfs_record\n  - index_block.usa_count = 0, causing integer underflow\n  - or index_block.usa_count larger than actual number of sectors in the\n    ntfs_record, causing out-of-bounds access\n\nKASAN reports describing the memory corruption:\n  ==================================================================\n  BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in post_write_mst_fixup+0x19c/0x1d0\n  Read of size 2 at addr ffff8881586c9018 by task p/9428\n  Call Trace:\n   \u003cTASK\u003e\n   dump_stack_lvl+0x100/0x190\n   print_report+0x139/0x4ad\n   ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x19c/0x1d0\n   ? __virt_addr_valid+0x262/0x500\n   ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x19c/0x1d0\n   kasan_report+0xe4/0x1d0\n   ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x19c/0x1d0\n   post_write_mst_fixup+0x19c/0x1d0\n   ntfs_icx_ib_sync_write+0x179/0x220\n   ntfs_inode_sync_filename+0x83d/0x1080\n   __ntfs_write_inode+0x1049/0x1480\n   ntfs_file_fsync+0x131/0x9b0\n  ==================================================================\n  BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in post_write_mst_fixup+0x1aa/0x1d0\n  Write of size 2 at addr ffff8881586c91fe by task p/9428\n  Call Trace:\n   \u003cTASK\u003e\n   dump_stack_lvl+0x100/0x190\n   print_report+0x139/0x4ad\n   ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x1aa/0x1d0\n   ? __virt_addr_valid+0x262/0x500\n   ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x1aa/0x1d0\n   kasan_report+0xe4/0x1d0\n   ? post_write_mst_fixup+0x1aa/0x1d0\n   post_write_mst_fixup+0x1aa/0x1d0\n   ntfs_icx_ib_sync_write+0x179/0x220\n   ntfs_inode_sync_filename+0x83d/0x1080\n   __ntfs_write_inode+0x1049/0x1480\n   ntfs_file_fsync+0x131/0x9b0\n  ==================================================================\n\nLet\u0027s move the post_write_mst_fixup() call to ntfs_ib_write().\nThe ntfs_ib_write() function calls pre_write_mst_fixup() at the beginning.\nIf the index_block contents is invalid, pre_write_mst_fixup() fails and\nntfs_ib_write() returns early without calling post_write_mst_fixup() on\nbad index_block."
          }
        ],
        "id": "CVE-2026-64431",
        "lastModified": "2026-09-03T18:29:10.100",
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                "attackComplexity": "LOW",
                "attackVector": "LOCAL",
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                "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
                "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
                "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
                "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
                "scope": "UNCHANGED",
                "userInteraction": "NONE",
                "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
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                "value": "CWE-787"
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            "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
            "type": "Primary"
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      "current_release_date": "2026-07-27T07:42:23+00:00",
      "cve": "CVE-2026-64431",
      "id": "CVE-2026-64431",
      "initial_release_date": "2026-07-25T00:00:00+00:00",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "274",
      "source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
      "status": "final",
      "title": "kernel: ntfs: avoid calling post_write_mst_fixup() for invalid index_block",
      "url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-64431.json",
      "version": "3"
    },
    "suse_vex": {
      "aggregate_severity": "moderate",
      "current_release_date": "2026-08-17T16:35:43Z",
      "cve": "CVE-2026-64431",
      "id": "CVE-2026-64431",
      "initial_release_date": "2026-07-25T15:59:28Z",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "298",
      "product_status:recommended": "4",
      "source": "SUSE CSAF VEX",
      "status": "interim",
      "title": "SUSE CVE CVE-2026-64431",
      "url": "https://ftp.suse.com/pub/projects/security/csaf-vex/cve-2026-64431.json",
      "version": "5"
    }
  }
}



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  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
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