---
id: CVE-2025-71265
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  fs: ntfs3: fix infinite loop in attr_load_runs_range on inconsistent metadata

  We found an infinite loop bug in the ntfs3 file system that can lead to a
  Denial-of-Servi…
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  fs: ntfs3: fix infinite loop in attr_load_runs_range on inconsistent metadata

  We found an infinite loop bug in the ntfs3 file system that can lead to a
  Denial-of-Servi…
severity: medium
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-835
vendor: linux
product: linux_kernel
affected:
  - 'linux_kernel >= 5.15, < 5.15.202'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.165'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.128'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.75'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.18.16'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 6.19.6'
patched:
  - linux_kernel 6.19.6
published: '2026-03-18'
updated: '2026-10-15'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-15T02:18:25.403'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-71265'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3c3a6e951b9b53dab2ac460a655313cf04c4a10a'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4b90f16e4bb5607fb35e7802eb67874038da4640'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6f07a590616ff5f57f7c041d98e463fad9e9f763'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/78b61f7eac37a63284774b147f38dd0be6cad43c'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a89bc96d5abd8a4a8d5d911884ea347efcdf460b'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/af839013c70a24779f9d1afb1575952009312d38'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c0b43c45d45f59e7faad48675a50231a210c379b'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-019113.html'
    label: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
  - url: 'https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-082556.html'
    label: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
  - url: 'https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-457936.html'
    label: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00129
epssPercentile: 0.02559
ingestedAt: '2026-09-08T15:33:26.994Z'
---

## Overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

fs: ntfs3: fix infinite loop in attr_load_runs_range on inconsistent metadata

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 attribute header
indicates an empty run list, while directory entries reference it as
containing actual data. In NTFS, setting evcn=-1 with svcn=0 is a valid way
to represent an empty run list, and run_unpack() correctly handles this by
checking if evcn + 1 equals svcn and returning early without parsing any run
data. However, this creates a problem when there is metadata inconsistency,
where the attribute header claims to be empty (evcn=-1) but the caller
expects to read actual data. When run_unpack() immediately returns success
upon seeing this condition, it leaves the runs_tree uninitialized with
run->runs as a NULL. The calling function attr_load_runs_range() assumes
that a successful return means that the runs were loaded and sets clen to 0,
expecting the next run_lookup_entry() call to succeed. Because runs_tree
remains uninitialized, run_lookup_entry() continues to fail, and the loop
increments vcn by zero (vcn += 0), leading to an infinite loop.

This patch adds a retry counter to detect when run_lookup_entry() fails
consecutively after attr_load_runs_vcn(). If the run is still not found on
the second attempt, it indicates corrupted metadata and returns -EINVAL,
preventing the Denial-of-Service (DoS) vulnerability.

## Affected

- `linux_kernel >= 5.15, < 5.15.202`
- `linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.165`
- `linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.128`
- `linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.75`
- `linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.18.16`
- `linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 6.19.6`

## Remediation

Upgrade past the affected range:

- `linux_kernel 6.19.6`