VulnerabilityPublished 17 Sep 2026Updated 23 Sep 2026

CVE-2026-90131: Linux kernel · ntfs: serialize resident iomap reads with mrec_lock

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.1 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.1High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 4% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 17 Sep 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

ghsa-p65r-ghh2-3f2q

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-aws-6.14`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws-6.14?arch=source&distro=noble`Other threats	Affected 6.14.0-1007.7~24.04.1 – 6.14.0-1018.18~24.04.1 11 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-aws-6.17`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws-6.17?arch=source&distro=noble`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-1005.5~24.04.2 – 6.17.0-1020.20~24.04.1 10 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-azure-6.11`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-6.11?arch=source&distro=noble`Other threats	Affected 6.11.0-1008.8~24.04.1 – 6.11.0-1018.18~24.04.1 7 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-azure-6.14`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-6.14?arch=source&distro=noble`Other threats	Affected 6.14.0-1010.10~24.04.1 – 6.14.0-1017.17~24.04.1 5 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-azure-6.17`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-6.17?arch=source&distro=noble`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-1008.8~24.04.1 – 6.17.0-1022.22 10 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-azure-fde-6.14`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.14?arch=source&distro=noble`Other threats	Affected 6.14.0-1012.12~24.04.1 – 6.14.0-1017.17~24.04.1 5 affected builds	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel NTFS driver that serializes resident iomap reads with the mrec_lock. Users should update to a kernel version that includes this fix. No additional mitigations are indicated.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: serialize resident iomap reads with mrec_lock ntfs_read_iomap_begin_resident() walks the MFT record through ntfs_attr_lookup() -> ntfs_attr_find() without taking ni->mrec_lock, while ntfs_attr_record_resize(), ntfs_make_room_for_attr() and ntfs_resident_attr_record_add() memmove() the same base_ni->mrec buffer under that lock. map_mft_record() only takes a reference and does not serialize, so the reader can observe torn attribute length and offset fields while a writer is relocating the records. KCSAN reports the race between the mmap read fault path and both link() and unlink(): BUG: KCSAN: data-race in ntfs_attr_find / ntfs_attr_record_resize write to 0xffff888100af1018 of 4 bytes by task 96 on cpu 1: ntfs_attr_record_resize+0xd2/0x130 ntfs_attr_record_rm+0xad/0x530 ntfs_delete+0x224/0x640 ntfs_unlink+0x14d/0x280 vfs_unlink+0x157/0x520 read to 0xffff888100af1018 of 4 bytes by task 95 on cpu 0: ntfs_attr_find+0x104/0x5b0 ntfs_attr_lookup+0x39c/0x10c0 ntfs_read_iomap_begin_resident+0xc6/0x230 ntfs_read_iomap_begin+0x5d/0xa0 iomap_iter+0x2e2/0x6e0 iomap_read_folio+0x147/0x2a0 ntfs_read_folio+0x108/0x170 filemap_read_folio+0x35/0x100 filemap_fault+0x993/0x1000 value changed: 0x00000250 -> 0x000001f0 The address is mrec + 0x18, i.e. mft_record.bytes_in_use, and the change is the 96 bytes of one $FILE_NAME attribute being removed. Keep base_ni->mrec_lock from the resident read iomap lookup through iomap_end(). This protects both the attribute walk and the subsequent copy from iomap->inline_data, which points into the MFT record. The non-resident path is left alone: ntfs_lookup() already holds the directory inode's mrec_lock when it reads an index folio through read_mapping_folio(), and taking the lock in the shared wrapper deadlocks there with recursive locking on mrec_lock. The comment above the read_mapping_folio() call in fs/ntfs/dir.c notes the same hazard. The seek path uses the same lookup helper but does not dereference iomap->inline_data. Release the lock before returning from that path, whereas the regular read path records base_ni in iomap->private and releases the lock from its iomap_end() callback. Tested with a reproducer that faults in a 16-byte resident file while another thread runs link()/unlink() on it. Before: 40 KCSAN reports in about one second. After: no reports in 180 seconds over 206,090 read iterations and 423,540 link/unlink cycles. A PROVE_LOCKING build shows no lockdep splat with the same reproducer running for 60 seconds.

Impact

The vulnerability could cause torn or inconsistent reads of NTFS MFT record attributes during concurrent file operations, potentially leading to data corruption or kernel instability. The CVSS score of 7.1 indicates high severity with high confidentiality impact and high availability impact, but no integrity impact. There are no known exploits in the wild.

Summary

The Linux kernel NTFS driver had a race condition where ntfs_read_iomap_begin_resident() accessed the MFT record without holding the ni->mrec_lock, while other functions like ntfs_attr_record_resize() modified the same buffer under that lock. This caused torn reads of attribute fields during concurrent access. KCSAN detected data races between mmap read faults and link()/unlink() operations. The fix serializes resident iomap reads by holding mrec_lock from the resident read iomap lookup through iomap_end(), protecting both attribute walking and copying from iomap->inline_data. The non-resident path was not changed due to potential deadlocks. Testing with a reproducer showed the fix eliminated KCSAN race reports.

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 19 Sep 2026, 01:52 UTC

Technical details

References

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