The NTFS3 driver in the Linux kernel failed to validate the size of directory index entries. A crafted entry can advertise a key size larger than the actual payload, causing the kernel to read past the end of the buffer during a directory lookup or extended‑attribute operation. This slab out‑of‑bounds read can leak kernel memory or trigger a kernel panic, compromising confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the system.

All Linux kernel releases with the default NTFS3 driver before the security patch are affected. The advisory does not list specific version numbers, so any distribution mounting NTFS volumes using the unpatched driver is considered vulnerable.

Based on the description, it is inferred that an attacker would need to supply a malicious NTFS filesystem image that the system can mount with the NTFS3 module, indicating local or remote access sufficient to write to a storage medium. No public exploits have been reported and the CVE is not listed in CISA’s KEV catalog. With a CVSS score of 7.1 and an EPSS score of less than 1%, the severity is moderate, but the potential for a kernel crash or data leakage suggests high impact if an attacker can provide the payload. The overall risk level until a patch is applied can be considered moderate to high, especially on systems that mount untrusted media.