CVE-2026-72194 fs/ntfs3: add depth limit to indx_find_buffer to prevent stack overflow
A crafted NTFS image causes unbounded recursion in the Linux kernel, leading to a stack overflow and system panic when mounting and deleting files.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-72194?
CVE-2026-72194 is a critical denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
fs/ntfs3: add depth limit to indx_find_buffer to prevent stack overflow
indx_find_buffer() recursively descends the B+ tree index with no depth limit. A crafted NTFS image with circular index node references causes unbounded recursion, overflowing the kernel stack and panicking the system.
This is reachable by mounting a malicious NTFS filesystem (e.g. from a USB drive via desktop automount) and deleting a file whose index entry triggers the rebalancing fallback path in indx_delete_entry().
Add a depth parameter and bail out with -EINVAL when it reaches the fnd->nodes array bound, matching the constraint already enforced by fnd_push() in indx_find().
The related function indx_find() was previously patched for a similar infinite-loop issue (commit 1732053c8a6b), but indx_find_buffer() was missed.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72194?
How do I fix CVE-2026-72194?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2026-72194 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72194 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-72194, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72194, GHSA-hqq4-5743-j5rq, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72194.