CVE-2026-72369: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: minix: avoid overflow in bitmap block count calculation minix_check

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: minix: avoid overflow in bitmap block count calculation minix_check_superblock() uses mini

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: minix: avoid overflow in bitmap block count calculation minix_check_superblock() uses minix_blocks_needed() to verify that the on-disk imap and zmap block counts are large enough for the advertised inode and zone counts. The helper currently performs DIV_ROUND_UP() in unsigned int arithmetic. A Minix v3 image can set s_ninodes or s_zones near UINT_MAX so the addition inside DIV_ROUND_UP() wraps to zero. That makes a zero imap/zmap block count look valid, after which minix_fill_super() can dereference s_imap[0] or s_zmap[0] even though no bitmap buffers were allocated. Impact: mounting a crafted Minix v3 image whose s_ninodes or s_zones is near UINT_MAX makes minix_check_superblock() accept a zero bitmap-block count and minix_fill_super() dereference s_imap[0]/s_zmap[0], panicking the kernel. The divisor is the bitmap capacity in bits, blocksize * 8, which is always a power of two: minix_fill_super() obtains the block size through sb_set_blocksize(), and blk_validate_block_size() rejects any size that is not a power of two. Use DIV_ROUND_UP_POW2(), which divides before adding the round-up term and so cannot ove

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.18%, higher than 7% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

Weekly security brief

The flaws that hit local websites, every Friday.

One short email: what got exploited this week, which WordPress plugins broke, and what to check. Unsubscribe in one click.