CVE-2026-98136: ntfs: bound $AttrDef table walk to the loaded table size
High 7.1 EPSS 0.1% Linux kernel
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: bound $AttrDef table walk to the loaded table size ntfs_attr_find_in_attrdef() walks the in-memory $AttrDef table, but the loop condition bounds only the start of each entry, not the whole entry: for (ad = vol->attrdef; (u8 *)ad - (u8 *)vol->attrdef < vol->attrdef_size && ad->type; ++ad) struct attr_def is 160 bytes; the guard reads ad->type at offset 128 and the loop body reads further fields. vol->attrdef is kvzalloc(i_size), where i_size is the on-disk $AttrDef data size, checked in load_and_init_attrdef() only as 0 < i_size <= 0x7fffffff. A volume whose $AttrDef data size is smaller than one entry (e.g. 120 bytes) makes the read of ad->type run past the allocation. Creating a file reaches this through ntfs_attr_size_bounds_check() and reads out of bounds: BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in ntfs_attr_find_in_attrdef+0x66/0xa0 Read of size 4 at addr ffff888005833280 by task init/1 ntfs_attr_find_in_attrdef ntfs_attr_size_bounds_check ntfs_attr_can_be_non_resident ntfs_attr_add Require the whole entry to lie within attrdef_size in the loop guard, and reject at mount a $AttrDef too small to hold one attr_def entry.
- CVE-2026-98136CVE identifier
- 7.1CVSS 3.1 base score (high)
- 0.1%EPSS: chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (higher than 1% of CVEs)
- 2026-09-25published
What do these terms mean? CVE · CVSS score · exploited (KEV) · EPSS · backported fix · all terms
What to do now
- Check whether you run Linux kernel and which version (commands below).
- Install the fixed version for your system: see “Patch it” below.
- Reboot into the new kernel (uname -r to confirm); live patching (kpatch, Ubuntu Livepatch, SUSE kGraft/klp) can defer the reboot for some CVEs
Affected and fixed versions
Affected:
- Linux Linux 1e9ea7e04472d4e5e12e58c881eaacfb3e49b669 to before 3e2ae47b8ebc632c27e7843a4632d9a7c060885e
- Linux Linux 1e9ea7e04472d4e5e12e58c881eaacfb3e49b669 to before c8504fc1245f5322af5fa5c325ab05f9cf792b87
- Linux Linux 7.1
Patch it
Use the commands for your system. Distribution packages often keep an older version number with the fix backported, so compare with the fixed package versions in the table below, not only with the upstream version.
Debian
sudo apt update
sudo apt install --only-upgrade linux-image-amd64Ubuntu
sudo apt update
sudo apt install --only-upgrade linux-image-generic (or the installed flavour: linux-image-aws, -azure, -gcp, -virtual)RHEL, AlmaLinux, Rocky, Oracle
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh kernelFedora
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh kernelSUSE / openSUSE
sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper update kernel-defaultAmazon Linux
sudo dnf upgrade --releasever=latest kernel kernel6.12Arch Linux
sudo pacman -SyuAlpine
apk update && apk upgrade linux-lts linux-virtFreeBSD
not LinuxGeneral update steps for every system are on the Linux and Unix & BSD pages; after updating, see which services to restart.
Fix status in Linux distributions
| Release | Package | Status | Fixed version / advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12 | linux | not affected | |
| Debian 13 | linux | not affected | |
| Debian testing | linux | fixed | 7.2.7-1 |
From the Debian security tracker, Ubuntu CVE tracker and Red Hat Security Data API, refreshed every few hours.
Sources
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3e2ae47b8ebc632c27e7843a4632d9a7c060885e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c8504fc1245f5322af5fa5c325ab05f9cf792b87
- CVE-2026-98136 on CVE.org
- CVE-2026-98136 on NVD
Page generated automatically from official sources on 2026-11-03 18:05 UTC. Always confirm with your vendor's advisory.