CVE-2026-90048 fs/ntfs3: fix slab-out-of-bounds write in ni_create_attr_list()
A local attacker can trigger a heap buffer overflow in the Linux kernel NTFS3 driver via a crafted image, potentially leading to code execution or privilege escalation.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-90048?
CVE-2026-90048 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 16 Sep 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: fix slab-out-of-bounds write in ni_create_attr_list()
ni_create_attr_list() allocates a fixed buffer of al_aligned(record_size) (== record_size) bytes and then walks every attribute of the primary MFT record, writing one ATTR_LIST_ENTRY per attribute and advancing the cursor by le_size(name_len), with no check against the end of the buffer; the total size is only computed after the loop.
A minimum-size resident attribute occupies SIZEOF_RESIDENT (0x18 = 24) bytes on disk, but an unnamed attribute expands to le_size(0) (0x20 = 32) bytes in the list. Because the number of attributes in a record is not bounded (mi_enum_attr() accepts arbitrarily many equal-type, nameless minimum-size attributes), a crafted record packed with such attributes produces a list larger than record_size and overflows the heap buffer.
This is reachable from a crafted, loop-mounted NTFS image: opening the file and adding an attribute (e.g. via setxattr) drives ntfs_set_ea() -> ni_insert_resident() -> ni_insert_attr() -> ni_ins_attr_ext() -> ni_create_attr_list().
BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in ni_create_attr_list+0xc48/0x1058 Write of size 4 at addr ffff000008984c00 by task setfattr/345 ni_create_attr_list+0xc48/0x1058 ni_ins_attr_ext+0x510/0x7c0 ni_insert_attr+0x3f8/0x70c ni_insert_resident+0xc8/0x3b0 ntfs_set_ea+0x66c/0xd28 ntfs_setxattr+0x4d8/0x5b0 __arm64_sys_setxattr+0xa4/0x124 Allocated by task 345: ni_create_attr_list+0x188/0x1058 The buggy address belongs to the cache kmalloc-1k of size 1024 (the write lands at object+1024).
Size the buffer from the actual attributes instead of assuming a single record_size is always enough.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-90048?
How do I fix CVE-2026-90048?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2026-90048 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-90048 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-101576, BELL-CVE-2026-90048, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-90048, GHSA-rmc3-723g-fx4m, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-90048.