Linux Kernel NTFS Vulnerability Impacts Symlink and WSL File Creation

CVE-2026-98141

What is CVE-2026-98141?

In the Linux kernel, an issue regarding the NTFS file system has been identified where the function 'update_reparse_data()' fails to correctly handle the return value of 'set_reparse_index()'. This oversight leads to a situation where, upon an index insertion failure, the system mistakenly indicates success for symlink and WSL special file creations, despite the absence of reparse data on the disk. The problem arises particularly when there was no prior reparse data, allowing errors to be silently ignored. This flaw can result in operational discrepancies in file management and potentially lead to security implications.

References