dbcve.org
Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-2021-39260

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2021.8.22 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A crafted NTFS image can cause an out-of-bounds access in ntfs_inode_sync_standard_information in NTFS-3G < 2021.8.22.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A specially crafted NTFS image triggers an out-of-bounds memory access vulnerability in the ntfs_inode_sync_standard_information function of NTFS-3G versions prior to 2021.8.22, potentially allowing denial of service or arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade NTFS-3G to version 2021.8.22 or later to patch the vulnerability.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 9.0= 10.0= 11.0
Ntfs 3gApplication
Affected:< 2021.8.22

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if NTFS-3G is installed
    Run `ntfs-3g --version` or check your package manager for the ntfs-3g package
    Affected if NTFS-3G is installed and version is less than 2021.8.22
  2. Identify the installed NTFS-3G package version
    On Debian-based systems, run `dpkg -l | grep ntfs-3g` or `apt show ntfs-3g`
    Affected if The displayed version number is earlier than 2021.8.22
  3. Check for actively mounted NTFS volumes
    Run `mount | grep ntfs` or `df -T | grep ntfs` to see if any NTFS filesystems are currently mounted
    Affected if NTFS partitions are mounted using NTFS-3G and the installed version is vulnerable
  4. Verify NTFS-3G is used for NTFS support
    Check if the `ntfs-3g` binary exists at `/usr/bin/ntfs-3g` or `/sbin/mount.ntfs` and review mount configurations in `/etc/fstab`
    Affected if NTFS-3G is the driver handling NTFS mounts and version is prior to 2021.8.22

You are affected if NTFS-3G with version lower than 2021.8.22 is installed and is being used to mount NTFS volumes, as the vulnerability triggers when processing a specially crafted NTFS image.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2021.8.22 or later
Fixed in 2021.8.22
Interim mitigation

Upgrade NTFS-3G to version 2021.8.22 or later to patch the vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

NTFS-3G 2021.8.22 or later

  1. Update your package repository indexes: 'apt-get update' (Debian) or 'emerge --sync' (Gentoo)
  2. Upgrade NTFS-3G to version 2021.8.22 or later: 'apt-get install ntfs-3g' (Debian) or 'emerge --update ntfs-3g' (Gentoo)
  3. Verify the installed version: 'ntfs-3g --version'
  4. Ensure the version is 2021.8.22 or higher

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Debian Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,720
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,752.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-39260 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-39260 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data