---
id: CVE-2025-71267
title: 'fs: ntfs3: fix infinite loop triggered by zero-sized ATTR_LIST'
summary: |-
  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) condit…
severity: none
vendor: Linux
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 <
    9267d99fade76d44d4a133599524031fe684156e
  - >-
    Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 <
    976e6a7c51fabf150478decbe8ef5d9a26039b7c
  - >-
    Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 <
    8d8c70b57dbeda3eb165c0940b97e85373ca9354
  - >-
    Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 <
    7ef219656febf5ae06ae56b1fce47ebd05f92b68
  - >-
    Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 <
    9779a6eaaabdf47aa57910d352b398ad742e6a5f
  - >-
    Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 <
    fd508939dbca5eceefb2d0c2564beb15469572f2
  - >-
    Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 <
    06909b2549d631a47fcda249d34be26f7ca1711d
  - Linux 5.15
published: '2026-03-18'
updated: '2026-09-08'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-08T08:44:20.942Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-71267'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9267d99fade76d44d4a133599524031fe684156e'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/976e6a7c51fabf150478decbe8ef5d9a26039b7c'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8d8c70b57dbeda3eb165c0940b97e85373ca9354'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7ef219656febf5ae06ae56b1fce47ebd05f92b68'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9779a6eaaabdf47aa57910d352b398ad742e6a5f'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fd508939dbca5eceefb2d0c2564beb15469572f2'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/06909b2549d631a47fcda249d34be26f7ca1711d'
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 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.

## Affected

- `Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 < 9267d99fade76d44d4a133599524031fe684156e`
- `Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 < 976e6a7c51fabf150478decbe8ef5d9a26039b7c`
- `Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 < 8d8c70b57dbeda3eb165c0940b97e85373ca9354`
- `Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 < 7ef219656febf5ae06ae56b1fce47ebd05f92b68`
- `Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 < 9779a6eaaabdf47aa57910d352b398ad742e6a5f`
- `Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 < fd508939dbca5eceefb2d0c2564beb15469572f2`
- `Linux >= be71b5cba2e6485e8959da7a9f9a44461a1bb074 < 06909b2549d631a47fcda249d34be26f7ca1711d`
- `Linux 5.15`

## Remediation

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