{
  "containers": {
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "fs/ntfs/mft.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThan": "7ffa8f3d30236e0ab897c30bdb01224ff1fe1c89",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "f831ab09d521898bf1dd99bf5adfd630ea1428e3",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "1e9ea7e04472d4e5e12e58c881eaacfb3e49b669",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "76bc14c7097ff678b2b5dbfd4fa33b46897d87ce",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "1e9ea7e04472d4e5e12e58c881eaacfb3e49b669",
              "versionType": "git"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "defaultStatus": "affected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "fs/ntfs/mft.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "2.6.12"
            },
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "7.1"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "2.6.12",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "7.1",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.9",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "7.1.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.1.5",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.2",
              "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "cpeApplicability": [
        {
          "nodes": [
            {
              "cpeMatch": [
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.9",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "2.6.12",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "7.1.5",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "7.1",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "7.2",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "7.1",
                  "vulnerable": true
                }
              ],
              "negate": false,
              "operator": "OR"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nntfs: skip extent mft records in writeback to prevent deadlock\n\nThis patch fixes the ABBA deadlock between extent_lock and extent\nmrec_lock triggered by xfstests generic/113, that occurs since the commit\n6994acf33bae (\"ntfs: use base mft_no when looking up base inode for\n\t\textent record\").\n\nPath A (inode writeback):\n  VFS writeback\n    -\u003e ntfs_write_inode()\n      -\u003e __ntfs_write_inode()\n        -\u003e mutex_lock(\u0026ni-\u003eextent_lock)\n        -\u003e mutex_lock(\u0026tni-\u003emrec_lock)\n\nPath B (MFT folio writeback):\n  VFS writeback of $MFT dirty folios\n    -\u003e ntfs_mft_writepages()\n      -\u003e ntfs_write_mft_block()\n        -\u003e ntfs_may_write_mft_record()\n          -\u003e holds one extent mrec_lock from a previous iteration\n          -\u003e tries to acquire another base inode extent_lock\n\nBy removing all extent_lock and extent mrec_lock acquisition from the MFT\nfolio writeback path, the ABBA lock ordering is eliminated:\n\nPath A: __ntfs_write_inode(): extent_lock -\u003e mrec_lock\nPath B (removed): ntfs_write_mft_block(): mrec_lock -\u003e extent_lock\n\nPath B is always redundant for extent records because:\n\n1. mark_mft_record_dirty(ext_ni) does NOT dirty the MFT folio.\n   It only sets NInoDirty(ext_ni) and marks the base VFS inode dirty\n   via __mark_inode_dirty(I_DIRTY_DATASYNC), which triggers Path A.\n   Therefore, normal extent modifications never create a situation where\n   the MFT folio is dirty and Path B is not scheduled.\n\n2. The MFT folio only gets dirtied via ntfs_mft_mark_dirty() inside\n   ntfs_mft_record_alloc(). But all identified callers in attrib.c\n   (ntfs_attr_add, ntfs_attr_record_move_away,\n   ntfs_attr_make_non_resident, ntfs_attr_record_resize) follow through\n   with mark_mft_record_dirty(), which triggers Path A to write the\n   complete record.\n\n3. ntfs_evict_big_inode() calls ntfs_commit_inode() before freeing extent\n   inodes, ensuring all dirty extents are flushed via Path A before the\n   base inode leaves the icache."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "cvssV3_1": {
            "baseScore": 7.5,
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
            "version": "3.1"
          },
          "scenarios": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "AV:N - The ABBA deadlock is reachable through concurrent VFS writeback on an rw-mounted NTFS volume; ntfs registers ntfs_export_ops, so nfsd/ksmbd remote WRITE/CLOSE/fsync RPCs on an exported NTFS share hit __ntfs_write_inode() and ntfs_mft_writepages() the same as local aio/write syscalls.\nAC:L - xfstests generic/113 (aio-stress with concurrent O_DIRECT/O_SYNC writes) reliably reproduces the hang; an attacker controls both lock-order participants by issuing parallel file metadata writes and sync/writeback pressure without races or attacker-independent memory layout.\nPR:N - Exploitation needs only write access to an rw-mounted or NFS/SMB-exported NTFS volume to drive ntfs_mft_record_alloc and concurrent writeback; no CAP_SYS_ADMIN, root, or init-namespace privileges on the server are required to deadlock the writeback paths.\nUI:N - Once an NTFS volume is rw-mounted (dual-boot partition, removable media, loop mount, or network export), the attacker issues the concurrent writes itself; no additional victim clicks, opens, or cooperative actions are required beyond that standing configuration.\nS:U - The circular mutex wait between extent_lock and extent mrec_lock only hangs kernel writeback and I/O worker threads within the host kernel security authority; it does not cross VM, container, IOMMU, or other security-boundary scopes.\nC:N - This is a deterministic lock-order inversion with no out-of-bounds access, use-after-free, or information disclosure; blocked threads wait on mutexes without reading attacker-controlled freed memory or leaking kernel pointers.\nI:N - The defect prevents completion of metadata writeback by deadlocking mutex acquisition; it does not perform attacker-controlled memory writes, corrupt on-disk NTFS structures, or provide a metadata modification primitive beyond denying forward progress.\nA:H - The ABBA deadlock between inode writeback (extent_lock then extent mrec_lock) and $MFT folio writeback (held mrec_lock then extent_lock) hangs kworker writeback and sync/fsync callers indefinitely, causing system-wide I/O denial of service."
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-08-19T07:37:27.158Z",
        "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "shortName": "Linux"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7ffa8f3d30236e0ab897c30bdb01224ff1fe1c89"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f831ab09d521898bf1dd99bf5adfd630ea1428e3"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/76bc14c7097ff678b2b5dbfd4fa33b46897d87ce"
        }
      ],
      "title": "ntfs: skip extent mft records in writeback to prevent deadlock",
      "x_generator": {
        "engine": "bippy-1.2.0"
      }
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
    "assignerShortName": "Linux",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-72203",
    "datePublished": "2026-08-15T05:54:00.321Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-08-09T03:40:39.912Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-08-19T07:37:27.158Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2"
}