Vulnerability Database

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CVE-2026-98136 — linux / linux_kernel

Out-of-bounds Read

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.

  • Published: Sep 25, 2026
  • Updated: Oct 15, 2026
  • CVE: CVE-2026-98136
  • Severity: High
  • Exploit:
  • CISA KEV:

CVSS v3:

  • Severity: High
  • Score: 7.1
  • AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H

CWEs:

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A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.

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Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.

Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.

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