Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2026-97438)
Summary
Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2026-97438). Confidential information can be exposed externally.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
fs/ntfs3: validate index entry key bounds
[BUG]
A malformed NTFS directory index entry can advertise a key_size larger
than the bytes actually present in its NTFS_DE payload. Directory lookup
then passes that malformed key to cmp_fnames(), which can read past the
end of the kmalloc'ed index buffer.
BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in fname_full_size fs/ntfs3/ntfs.h:590 [inline]
BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in cmp_fnames+0x1ea/0x230 fs/ntfs3/index.c:46
Read of size 1 at addr ffff88801c313018 by task syz.6.3365/9279
Call Trace:
__dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:94 [inline]
dump_stack_lvl+0xbe/0x130 lib/dump_stack.c:120
print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:378 [inline]
print_report+0xd1/0x650 mm/kasan/report.c:482
kasan_report+0xfb/0x140 mm/kasan/report.c:595
__asan_report_load1_noabort+0x14/0x30 mm/kasan/report_generic.c:378
fname_full_size fs/ntfs3/ntfs.h:590 [inline]
cmp_fnames+0x1ea/0x230 fs/ntfs3/index.c:46
hdr_find_e.isra.0+0x3ed/0x670 fs/ntfs3/index.c:762
indx_find+0x4b5/0x900 fs/ntfs3/index.c:1186
dir_search_u+0x2c0/0x460 fs/ntfs3/dir.c:254
ntfs_lookup+0x1cc/0x2a0 fs/ntfs3/namei.c:85
__lookup_slow+0x241/0x450 fs/namei.c:1816
lookup_slow fs/namei.c:1833 [inline]
walk_component+0x31c/0x570 fs/namei.c:2151
link_path_walk+0x592/0xd60 fs/namei.c:2519
path_lookupat+0x138/0x660 fs/namei.c:2675
filename_lookup+0x1f3/0x560 fs/namei.c:2705
filename_setxattr+0xad/0x1c0 fs/xattr.c:660
path…
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD GitHub Advisory
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-97438 has been found in Linux kernel.
Confidential information can be exposed externally. CVSS score: 7.1/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Linux kernel CVE-2026-97438" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-97438 (Linux kernel) — CVSS v3 7.1
Attack vector: local / unauthenticated
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
A vulnerability (unclassified) exists in Linux kernel.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Linux kernel.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.1/10). Confidential information can be exposed externally.
Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Audit SBOM/dependencies to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
Audit SBOM/dependencies for affected components.資産台帳・SBOM・依存マニフェストで Linux kernel を使っているサービスとバージョンを洗い出す。
-
2Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Affected packages
Fix status by distribution
Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE
- Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97438 linux Fixed in: 6.1.190-1
- Ubuntu UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97438 linux
References
- advisory nvd.nist.gov
- advisory github.com
- package git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web github.com