Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2022-50739 is a Linux kernel ntfs3 filesystem bug. A specially malformed NTFS image can trigger a kernel null pointer dereference during mount. The main business risk is local denial of service or system instability where systems mount untrusted NTFS media or images.
Executive priority
Treat as a targeted availability risk, not a broad internet-exposed emergency. Patch through normal kernel maintenance, with higher priority for workstations, forensic systems, file-processing hosts, or environments handling untrusted disk images.
Technical view
The ntfs3 driver did not validate the inode operations pointer after reading the Root directory MFT record. The fix adds a sanity check before creating the root dentry, preventing a NULL pointer dereference observed in the mount path.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most relevant on Linux systems using the in-kernel ntfs3 driver to mount NTFS filesystems, especially removable media or user-supplied disk images. Systems that do not mount NTFS with ntfs3 are likely not exposed through this path.
Exploitation context
The source describes triggering the bug by mounting an NTFS image with an unusual Root directory MFT record. CISA KEV is false in the provided data, and no cited source states active exploitation.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the kernel fix description and stable commit references. No CVSS, CWE, or exploit-in-the-wild evidence is provided. The affected-version data in the bundle is incomplete or flattened, so rely on kernel and distribution advisories for precise version status.
Mitigation direction
- Update Linux kernels to versions containing the referenced stable fixes.
- Prioritize systems that mount removable or untrusted NTFS media.
- Restrict mounting of untrusted NTFS images where operationally feasible.
- Check distribution vendor advisories for backported kernel fixes.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Linux hosts and kernel versions.
- Identify systems using or permitting ntfs3 NTFS mounts.
- Compare installed kernels with vendor guidance and referenced stable commits.
- Review automount policies for removable NTFS media.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2022-50739 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f62506f5e45afbb01c84c3f28a2878b320a0b0f7CVE reference
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9f24743ddcdd3683b0a6b16e1439ad091dc3489bCVE reference
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a7b23037b38b577d9a4372e0c6b7c9fe808070c1CVE reference
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c1ca8ef0262b25493631ecbd9cb8c9893e1481a1CVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.