Improper input validation in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-72159

Vulnerability identifier: #VU143437

CSH Severity: Low

CVSS v4: 6.8 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]

CVE-ID: CVE-2026-72159

CWE-ID: CWE-20

Exploitation vector: Local access

Exploit availability: No public exploit available

The vulnerability allows a local user to cause a denial of service.

The vulnerability exists due to improper input validation in ocfs2 inode validation when processing a forged dinode on an OCFS2 volume. A local user can provide a malformed inode with non-zero i_size and zero i_clusters to cause a denial of service.

Sparse regular files are exempt on volumes mounted with sparse allocation enabled, while non-inline directories are also affected by this malformed size and cluster state.

Linux kernel
Ubuntu
linux-nvidia (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux (Ubuntu package)
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure (Ubuntu package)

Install security update from vendor's repository.

Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
linux-nvidia (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 5.15.0-1112.113, 5.15.0.1112.112
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-38.38~24.04.4, 7.0.0-1013.13~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1014.14~24.04.1
linux (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-38.38, 7.0.0-38.38.1, 7.0.0-1008.9, 7.0.0-1013.13~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1014.14, 7.0.0-1015.15
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1015.15
linux-azure-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-1016.16~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1017.17~24.04.1
linux-azure (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-1016.16, 7.0.0-1017.17

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2174c68f623b74bd8690a4a6a4a52882d8ac3dc3
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/38c1ef7ce50eb4af0f89038b8aba12396ddb9233
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3bfeb436d4be6a2beb56cab344770e93e6b07260
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/416d3e5f8a30ed04fe21ba7dc73c2841c3b56265
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7ebc672fab7a76e1e47e0f2fc1ee48118d27fde4
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/83f6756a7b71adec0a41ae68e079a38906d59c6c
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d837068eefbc2651fe5789bf75a0f945710f7b8e
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ed0f938f946f16b772e99cb8c277ab57828e5be4

• Improper input validation in Linux kernel ocfs2
• Ubuntu update for linux-gcp-7.0
• Ubuntu update for linux-nvidia
• Ubuntu update for linux-azure-7.0
• Ubuntu update for linux
• Ubuntu update for linux-azure
• Ubuntu update for linux-oem-7.0