---
id: CVE-2025-71265
title: 'fs: ntfs3: fix infinite loop in attr_load_runs_range on inconsistent metadata'
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: none
vendor: Linux
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 <
    6f07a590616ff5f57f7c041d98e463fad9e9f763
  - >-
    Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 <
    a89bc96d5abd8a4a8d5d911884ea347efcdf460b
  - >-
    Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 <
    af839013c70a24779f9d1afb1575952009312d38
  - >-
    Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 <
    78b61f7eac37a63284774b147f38dd0be6cad43c
  - >-
    Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 <
    c0b43c45d45f59e7faad48675a50231a210c379b
  - >-
    Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 <
    3c3a6e951b9b53dab2ac460a655313cf04c4a10a
  - >-
    Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 <
    4b90f16e4bb5607fb35e7802eb67874038da4640
  - Linux 5.15
published: '2026-03-18'
updated: '2026-09-08'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-08T08:44:17.791Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-71265'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6f07a590616ff5f57f7c041d98e463fad9e9f763'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a89bc96d5abd8a4a8d5d911884ea347efcdf460b'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/af839013c70a24779f9d1afb1575952009312d38'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/78b61f7eac37a63284774b147f38dd0be6cad43c'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c0b43c45d45f59e7faad48675a50231a210c379b'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3c3a6e951b9b53dab2ac460a655313cf04c4a10a'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4b90f16e4bb5607fb35e7802eb67874038da4640'
tags:
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00121
epssPercentile: 0.01679
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 >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 < 6f07a590616ff5f57f7c041d98e463fad9e9f763`
- `Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 < a89bc96d5abd8a4a8d5d911884ea347efcdf460b`
- `Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 < af839013c70a24779f9d1afb1575952009312d38`
- `Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 < 78b61f7eac37a63284774b147f38dd0be6cad43c`
- `Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 < c0b43c45d45f59e7faad48675a50231a210c379b`
- `Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 < 3c3a6e951b9b53dab2ac460a655313cf04c4a10a`
- `Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 < 4b90f16e4bb5607fb35e7802eb67874038da4640`
- `Linux 5.15`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.