CVE-2026-72203ntfs: skip extent mft records in writeback to prevent deadlock
- 7.5HighCVSS base score
- 0.63%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 49% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- NonePublic exploitsnone known yet
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: skip extent mft records in writeback to prevent deadlock This patch fixes the ABBA deadlock between extent_lock and extent mrec_lock triggered by xfstests generic/113, that occurs since the commit 6994acf33bae ("ntfs: use base mft_no when looking up base inode for extent record"). Path A (inode writeback): VFS writeback -> ntfs_write_inode() -> __ntfs_write_inode() -> mutex_lock(&ni->extent_lock) -> mutex_lock(&tni->mrec_lock) Path B (MFT folio writeback): VFS writeback of $MFT dirty folios -> ntfs_mft_writepages() -> ntfs_write_mft_block() -> ntfs_may_write_mft_record() -> holds one extent mrec_lock from a previous iteration -> tries to acquire another base inode extent_lock By removing all extent_lock and extent mrec_lock acquisition from the MFT folio writeback path, the ABBA lock ordering is eliminated: Path A: __ntfs_write_inode(): extent_lock -> mrec_lock Path B (removed): ntfs_write_mft_block(): mrec_lock -> extent_lock Path B is always redundant for extent records because: 1. mark_mft_record_dirty(ext_ni) does NOT dirty the MFT folio. It only sets NInoDirty(ext_ni) and marks the base VFS inode dirty via __mark_inode_dirty(I_DIRTY_DATASYNC), which triggers Path A. Therefore, normal extent modifications never create a situation where the MFT folio is dirty and Path B is not scheduled. 2. The MFT folio only gets dirtied via ntfs_mft_mark_dirty() inside ntfs_mft_record_alloc(). But all identified callers in attrib.c (ntfs_attr_add, ntfs_attr_record_move_away, ntfs_attr_make_non_resident, ntfs_attr_record_resize) follow through with mark_mft_record_dirty(), which triggers Path A to write the complete record. 3. ntfs_evict_big_inode() calls ntfs_commit_inode() before freeing extent inodes, ensuring all dirty extents are flushed via Path A before the base inode leaves the icache.
Timeline
ID reserved
By Linux
- 6 days later
· 6 days later
Published
- 3 months later
· 3 months later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| LinuxCNA (assigner) | 3.1 | High7.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| NVDNVD · Received | 3.1 | High7.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.63% · top 49% of all CVEs (15 Nov 2026)
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 7.5.
Affected products
- affected 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 – < b06b4fc2138ded8ee0b3dc602991ff6dbb10dd0a
- affected 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 – < 6626fb859f4c4772f2f59751d23937716e03f98f
- affected 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 – < 7ffa8f3d30236e0ab897c30bdb01224ff1fe1c89
- affected 1e9ea7e04472d4e5e12e58c881eaacfb3e49b669 – < f831ab09d521898bf1dd99bf5adfd630ea1428e3
- affected 1e9ea7e04472d4e5e12e58c881eaacfb3e49b669 – < 76bc14c7097ff678b2b5dbfd4fa33b46897d87ce
- affected 2.6.12
- affected 7.1
- unaffected < 2.6.12
- unaffected 6.1.191 – ≤ 6.1.*
- unaffected 6.6.160 – ≤ 6.6.*
- unaffected 6.9 – < 7.1
- unaffected 7.1.5 – ≤ 7.1.*
- unaffected 7.2 – ≤ *
References
References5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b06b4fc2138ded8ee0b3dc602991ff6dbb10dd0a (opens in a new tab)
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6626fb859f4c4772f2f59751d23937716e03f98f (opens in a new tab)
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7ffa8f3d30236e0ab897c30bdb01224ff1fe1c89 (opens in a new tab)
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f831ab09d521898bf1dd99bf5adfd630ea1428e3 (opens in a new tab)
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/76bc14c7097ff678b2b5dbfd4fa33b46897d87ce (opens in a new tab)
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2026-58961 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
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[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2026-72203)Record last updated .