# 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.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 16 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-101576, BELL-CVE-2026-90048, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-90048, GHSA-rmc3-723g-fx4m, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-90048

## 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.

## Is CVE-2026-90048 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-90048 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-90048 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-90048 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-2026-90048/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-90048/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-90048
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90048
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-90048

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-90048/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.