[PATCH v3] ntfs: validate non-resident attribute offsets
From: Hongling Zeng
Date: Thu Aug 06 2026 - 01:58:00 EST
ntfs_attr_update_meta() shifts the attribute name when converting between
non-sparse and sparse attributes. Converting to sparse also adds the
compressed_size field before the name and mapping pairs, requiring eight
additional bytes in the attribute record.
However, the validator does not check that name_offset is within safe
boundaries for these operations or that the additional space is available.
A malicious MFT record could set name_offset such that:
1. The name is positioned at the very end of a non-sparse attribute.
Converting to sparse would shift the name forward by 8 bytes,
writing beyond the attribute boundary.
2. The name overlaps with the mapping pairs, causing corruption during
conversion.
Add validation to ensure:
- For named attributes, name_offset is within valid bounds
- Name does not extend beyond the attribute or overlap with mapping pairs
- For non-sparse, non-compressed attributes, eight bytes are available
after mapping_pairs_offset for the compressed_size field
The space check also covers unnamed attributes, for which name_offset = 0
is valid and no name range needs to be checked.
Fixes: 7e2a1c554bc4 ("ntfs: Fix min_len for compressed/sparse attributes in ntfs_non_resident_attr_value_is_valid()")
Cc: stable@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Signed-off-by: Hongling Zeng <zenghongling@xxxxxxxxxx>
Suggested-by: Namjae Jeon <linkinjeon@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
Changes in v3:
- Move the sparse conversion space check outside the if (name_length)
block to cover both named and unnamed attributes.
- Use attr_len - mp_offset < sizeof(compressed_size) to check for
sufficient room, as suggested by reviewer.
---
fs/ntfs/attrib.c | 25 ++++++++++++++++++++++++-
1 file changed, 24 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
diff --git a/fs/ntfs/attrib.c b/fs/ntfs/attrib.c
index d354c3b0fae1..edea3d822b57 100644
--- a/fs/ntfs/attrib.c
+++ b/fs/ntfs/attrib.c
@@ -693,6 +693,8 @@ static bool ntfs_non_resident_attr_value_is_valid(const struct attr_record *a)
u32 attr_len;
u32 min_len;
u16 mp_offset;
+ u16 name_offset;
+ u32 name_end;
attr_len = le32_to_cpu(a->length);
min_len = offsetof(struct attr_record, data.non_resident.initialized_size) +
@@ -706,7 +708,28 @@ static bool ntfs_non_resident_attr_value_is_valid(const struct attr_record *a)
return false;
mp_offset = le16_to_cpu(a->data.non_resident.mapping_pairs_offset);
- return mp_offset >= min_len && mp_offset <= attr_len;
+ if (mp_offset < min_len || mp_offset > attr_len)
+ return false;
+
+ if (a->name_length) {
+ name_offset = le16_to_cpu(a->name_offset);
+
+ if (name_offset < min_len || name_offset >= attr_len)
+ return false;
+
+ name_end = name_offset + a->name_length * sizeof(__le16);
+ if (name_end > attr_len || name_end > mp_offset)
+ return false;
+ }
+
+ /* Ensure there's room for the compressed_size field if needed. */
+ if (!(a->flags & ATTR_IS_SPARSE) &&
+ !(a->flags & ATTR_IS_COMPRESSED) &&
+ attr_len - mp_offset < sizeof(a->data.non_resident.compressed_size))
+ return false;
+
+ return true;
+
}
static bool ntfs_attr_value_is_valid(struct ntfs_volume *vol,
--
2.25.1