CVE-2026-98138 ntfs: do not mark the volume clean in sync_fs when errors were recorded

What is CVE-2026-98138?

CVE-2026-98138 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

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

ntfs: do not mark the volume clean in sync_fs when errors were recorded

ntfs_put_super() and the remount-read-only path both clear the dirty bit only when NVolErrors(vol) is false. ntfs_sync_fs() clears it unconditionally, so any sync() on a volume that recorded an error marks that volume clean. A volume without this set is then seen as not needing recovery and it does not run one, so whatever went wrong is never repaired.

This change skips resetting the dirty bit when there are volume errors.

Reproduced on a volume whose $MFTMirr does not match $MFT, which sets the error flag while leaving the mount read-write: after a write and a sync, the on-disk volume flags read 0x0000 with this driver and 0x0001 with the guard in place.

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98138?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-98138?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2026-98138 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98138 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98138, GHSA-hj9h-73j9-cr9g, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98138.