CVE-2025-71266: linux Infinite Loop

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2025-71266 is a medium (CVSS 5.5) Infinite Loop vulnerability in linux. EPSS estimates a 0.13% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 2.2% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 18-03-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 15-10-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs: ntfs3: check return value of indx_find to avoid infinite loop We found an infinite loop bug in the ntfs3 file system that can lead to a Denial-of-Service (DoS) condition. A malformed dentry in the ntfs3 filesystem can cause the kernel to hang during the lookup operations. By setting the HAS_SUB_NODE flag in an INDEX_ENTRY within a directory's INDEX_ALLOCATION block and manipulating the VCN pointer, an attacker can cause the indx_find() function to repeatedly read the same block, allocating 4 KB of memory each time. The kernel lacks VCN loop detection and depth limits, causing memory exhaustion and an OOM crash. This patch adds a return value check for fnd_push() to prevent a memory exhaustion vulnerability caused by infinite loops. When the index exceeds the size of the fnd->nodes array, fnd_push() returns -EINVAL. The indx_find() function checks this return value and stops processing, preventing further memory allocation.

• CWE-835Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop.