# CVE-2023-54077: fs/ntfs3: Fix memory leak if ntfs_read_mft failed

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel NTFS3 driver allows attackers to cause denial of service by triggering inconsistent state handling during MFT reading.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 24 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-54077, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54077, GHSA-gg3g-2q75-6v65, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54077

## What is CVE-2023-54077?

CVE-2023-54077 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Dec 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

fs/ntfs3: Fix memory leak if ntfs_read_mft failed

Label ATTR_ROOT in ntfs_read_mft() sets is_root = true and
ni->ni_flags |= NI_FLAG_DIR, then next attr will goto label ATTR_ALLOC
and alloc ni->dir.alloc_run. However two states are not always
consistent and can make memory leak.

 1) attr_name in ATTR_ROOT does not fit the condition it will set
 is_root = true but NI_FLAG_DIR is not set.
 2) next attr_name in ATTR_ALLOC fits the condition and alloc
 ni->dir.alloc_run
 3) in cleanup function ni_clear(), when NI_FLAG_DIR is set, it frees
 ni->dir.alloc_run, otherwise it frees ni->file.run
 4) because NI_FLAG_DIR is not set in this case, ni->dir.alloc_run is
 leaked as kmemleak reported:

unreferenced object 0xffff888003bc5480 (size 64):
  backtrace:
    [<000000003d42e6b0>] __kmalloc_node+0x4e/0x1c0
    [<00000000d8e19b8a>] kvmalloc_node+0x39/0x1f0
    [<00000000fc3eb5b8>] run_add_entry+0x18a/0xa40 [ntfs3]
    [<0000000011c9f978>] run_unpack+0x75d/0x8e0 [ntfs3]
    [<00000000e7cf1819>] run_unpack_ex+0xbc/0x500 [ntfs3]
    [<00000000bbf0a43d>] ntfs_iget5+0xb25/0x2dd0 [ntfs3]
    [<00000000a6e50693>] ntfs_fill_super+0x218d/0x3580 [ntfs3]
    [<00000000b9170608>] get_tree_bdev+0x3fb/0x710
    [<000000004833798a>] vfs_get_tree+0x8e/0x280
    [<000000006e20b8e6>] path_mount+0xf3c/0x1930
    [<000000007bf15a5f>] do_mount+0xf3/0x110
    ...

Fix this by always setting is_root and NI_FLAG_DIR together.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54077?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-54077?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-54077 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54077 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-54077 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-54077 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Dec 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54077 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54077/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54077/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-54077
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-54077
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-54077

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54077/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.