CVE-2026-72208 ntfs: add bounds check before accessing EA entries
A missing bounds check in the Linux kernel NTFS driver allows attackers to cause a denial of service via crafted Extended Attribute entries.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-72208?
CVE-2026-72208 is a critical 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:
ntfs: add bounds check before accessing EA entries
in ntfs_ea_lookup and ntfs_listxattr, this verifies that there is enough space in the EA entry before accessing the next_entry_offset field of the EA entry.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72208?
How do I fix CVE-2026-72208?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-72208 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72208 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72208, GHSA-6v96-8w62-7ppx, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72208.