Linux: allow mounting NTFS volumes with ntfs3 by mammothcoding · Pull Request #1695 · veracrypt/VeraCrypt

mammothcoding · 2026-04-25T18:40:29Z

Summary

This PR allows Linux users to mount NTFS volumes with the in-kernel ntfs3 driver instead of ntfs-3g/fuseblk.

It intentionally does not add sleep hooks, automatic dismounting, or arbitrary filesystem type passthrough. It adds a narrow Linux-only ntfs3 path for NTFS volumes.

Motivation

This is related to #1660.

On recent Linux/systemd combinations, NTFS VeraCrypt volumes mounted through ntfs-3g appear as fuseblk. During suspend/hibernate, systemd may freeze user.slice while the kernel sleep path tries to sync FUSE-backed filesystems. If the userspace ntfs-3g daemon is frozen, the sleep path can hang.

Mounting the NTFS filesystem with the Linux in-kernel ntfs3 driver avoids the FUSE userspace daemon path.

What changed

Accept ntfs3 as a valid Linux value for --filesystem.
Canonicalize the explicit mount filesystem type to lowercase ntfs3.
Keep the existing VolumeCreationOptions::FilesystemType::NTFS mapping, because ntfs3 is a Linux mount driver for the NTFS filesystem, not a separate on-disk format.
Add a Linux preference named "Mount NTFS volumes with the Linux kernel ntfs3 driver".
When that preference is enabled, detect NTFS filesystems with blkid and mount them with ntfs3 automatically. This applies to the Linux native dm-crypt path and to the fallback auxiliary-image mount path.
Make the preference apply to favorite volumes, because favorites use the default mount options.
Document in command-line help, GUI preference text, and the HTML documentation that the ntfs3 kernel module must be available and allowed by the distribution. Some distributions blacklist it by default and require administrator action before it can be loaded.
Add a Linux help example for mounting an NTFS volume using --filesystem=ntfs3.

Local validation

I reproduced the affected setup on openSUSE Tumbleweed with:

Kernel: 6.19.11-1-default
systemd: 259.5+suse
VeraCrypt: 1.26.24
ntfs-3g: 2022.10.3
fuse3: 3.18.2

The affected NTFS VeraCrypt volume previously mounted as fuseblk and hibernation could hang. I then opened the VeraCrypt volume without mounting its filesystem and mounted the virtual device with:

mount -t ntfs3 -o uid=1000,gid=1000,umask=077 /dev/mapper/veracrypt1 /home/myuser/SecVol

findmnt then reported:

/home/myuser/SecVol /dev/mapper/veracrypt1 ntfs3

With the VeraCrypt volume left mounted as ntfs3, hibernation and resume completed successfully and the volume remained mounted after resume.

Patched binary validation:

Built successfully on the same openSUSE Tumbleweed system with make NOGUI=1.
Built successfully on the same system with the default GUI build (make).
veracrypt --text --help includes the new ntfs3 help text and example.
--filesystem=ntfs3 is accepted by the command-line parser.
An arbitrary filesystem value such as --filesystem=definitely-not-allowed is still rejected as an unknown option.

Live patched-binary mount validation:

Mounted the same NTFS VeraCrypt volume through the patched binary using --filesystem=ntfs3.
findmnt reported the mounted filesystem as ntfs3 on /dev/mapper/veracrypt1.
The volume remained visible to VeraCrypt in its normal slot after the filesystem mount.

Favorite-volume validation:

Enabled the new MountNtfsWithNtfs3 preference.
Mounted the same NTFS VeraCrypt volume through --load-preferences --auto-mount favorites; findmnt reported ntfs3.
Mounted the same favorite volume through the GUI menu Favorites -> Mount Favorite Volumes; findmnt reported ntfs3.
With the GUI-mounted favorite volume left mounted as ntfs3, hibernation and resume completed successfully and the volume remained mounted after resume.

idrassi · 2026-04-26T12:00:13Z

@mammothcoding
Thanks for the detailed testing and for keeping the PR narrow.

Your results are useful confirmation for #1660 conclusion.

I agree with the general direction of this P but I can't merge it as-is. Please revise the following:

Gate the new GUI preference strictly to Linux. The persistence and mount behavior are Linux-only but the checkbox and
help text are currently added in the shared wx UI path. Non-Linux Unix builds should not expose a Linux-only ntfs3 option.
Avoid duplicating DetectFilesystemType in both CoreUnix.cpp and CoreLinux.cpp. Please consolidate it into one Linux helper or otherwise avoid duplicated logic.
Make the NTFS detection use uncached probing, e.g. blkid -p -o value -s TYPE -- <device>, because VeraCrypt
reuses /dev/mapper/veracryptN device names.
Clarify the documentation/help text around detection and fallback. The preference should be described as applying only when VeraCrypt detects NTFS via blkid. If detection fails or if ntfs3 is unavailable, users should not be left with the impression that the FUSE path was definitely avoided.
Keep this opt-in and disabled by default. Linux NTFS mounts can use different backends depending on kernel, installed packages and distribution policy (ntfs-3g/fuseblk, lowntfs-3g, ntfs3 and possibly newer kernel ntfs implementations). VeraCrypt shouldn't override the default NTFS backend for existing users unless they explicitly opt in.

Once these points are addressed, this can be considered as an opt-in mitigation for affected Linux users.

idrassi · 2026-04-26T12:53:08Z

+	MountNtfsWithNtfs3CheckBox = new wxCheckBox( FilesystemSizer->GetStaticBox(), wxID_ANY, _("LINUX_PREF_MOUNT_NTFS_WITH_NTFS3"), wxDefaultPosition, wxDefaultSize, 0 );
+	FilesystemSizer->Add( MountNtfsWithNtfs3CheckBox, 0, wxALL, 5 );
+
+	wxStaticText* MountNtfsWithNtfs3HelpStaticText;
+	MountNtfsWithNtfs3HelpStaticText = new wxStaticText( FilesystemSizer->GetStaticBox(), wxID_ANY, _("LINUX_PREF_MOUNT_NTFS_WITH_NTFS3_HELP"), wxDefaultPosition, wxDefaultSize, 0 );
+	MountNtfsWithNtfs3HelpStaticText->Wrap( 600 );
+	FilesystemSizer->Add( MountNtfsWithNtfs3HelpStaticText, 0, wxLEFT|wxRIGHT|wxBOTTOM|wxEXPAND, 5 );
+


This is currently added in the shared generated wx UI path. Since the preference is Linux-only, please ensure this checkbox and its help text are only exposed on TC_LINUX builds, or are explicitly hidden on non-Linux Unix platforms.

idrassi · 2026-04-26T13:13:53Z

+		string DetectFilesystemType (const DevicePath &devicePath)
+		{
+			list <string> args;
+			args.push_back ("-o");
+			args.push_back ("value");
+			args.push_back ("-s");
+			args.push_back ("TYPE");
+			args.push_back ("--");
+			args.push_back (devicePath);
+
+			try
+			{
+				return StringConverter::ToLower (StringConverter::Trim (Process::Execute ("blkid", args, 2000)));
+			}
+			catch (...)
+			{
+				return string();
+			}
+		}


This duplicates the DetectFilesystemType helper added in CoreUnix.cpp. Please consolidate this into a single Linux helper used by both the native dm-crypt path and the auxiliary-image path.

idrassi · 2026-04-26T13:15:32Z

+	static string DetectFilesystemType (const DevicePath &devicePath)
+	{
+		list <string> args;
+		args.push_back ("-o");


Please use uncached probing here, e.g. add -p so this calls blkid -p -o value -s TYPE -- <device>. VeraCrypt reuses /dev/mapper/veracryptN names, so relying on cached blkid results would be a bad failure mode.

idrassi · 2026-04-26T13:15:54Z

+		string DetectFilesystemType (const DevicePath &devicePath)
+		{
+			list <string> args;
+			args.push_back ("-o");


Please use uncached probing here, e.g. add -p so this calls blkid -p -o value -s TYPE -- <device>. VeraCrypt reuses /dev/mapper/veracryptN names, so relying on cached blkid results would be a bad failure mode.

idrassi · 2026-04-26T13:16:55Z

    <entry lang="en" key="LINUX_PREF_TAB_MOUNT_OPTIONS_FS">Filesystem</entry>
    <entry lang="en" key="IDT_LINUX_PREF_TAB_MOUNT_OPTIONS">Mount options:</entry>
+    <entry lang="en" key="LINUX_PREF_MOUNT_NTFS_WITH_NTFS3">Mount NTFS volumes with the Linux kernel ntfs3 driver</entry>
+    <entry lang="en" key="LINUX_PREF_MOUNT_NTFS_WITH_NTFS3_HELP">When enabled, VeraCrypt detects NTFS filesystems and mounts them with ntfs3 instead of ntfs-3g/fuseblk. This can avoid suspend or hibernate hangs on systems where user-space FUSE filesystems are frozen while the kernel is syncing filesystems. The ntfs3 kernel module must be available and allowed by the distribution.</entry>


Please make this text more explicit that the preference applies only when VeraCrypt detects TYPE=ntfs via blkid. If detection fails, the normal mount path is used. If ntfs3 is unavailable or blacklisted by the distribution, users should not be left with the impression that the FUSE path was definitely avoided.

idrassi · 2026-04-26T13:18:28Z

+    <entry lang="ru" key="LINUX_PREF_MOUNT_NTFS_WITH_NTFS3">Монтировать NTFS-тома через драйвер ядра Linux ntfs3</entry>
+    <entry lang="ru" key="LINUX_PREF_MOUNT_NTFS_WITH_NTFS3_HELP">Если включено, VeraCrypt определяет файловые системы NTFS и монтирует их через ntfs3 вместо ntfs-3g/fuseblk. Это может предотвратить зависания при ждущем режиме или гибернации на системах, где пользовательские FUSE-файловые системы замораживаются, пока ядро синхронизирует файловые системы. Модуль ядра ntfs3 должен быть доступен и разрешён дистрибутивом.</entry>


It is preferable to keep entries in English for this PR and have a separate PR for translation so that it can reviewed by maintainer of the Russian translation.

mammothcoding · 2026-04-26T14:36:35Z

Thanks for the note about translation changes. I removed the Russian language and Russian documentation updates from this PR in 2411942, so this PR now keeps only the code changes plus English strings/docs. If this PR is accepted, I can follow up with a separate Russian translation PR based on the final English text.

Linux: allow mounting volumes with ntfs3

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mammothcoding mentioned this pull request Apr 25, 2026

Kernel 6.18.x and 6.19.0-rc5 fail to suspend (hang) if any VeraCrypt volume is mounted #1660

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Linux: add ntfs3 preference for NTFS mounts

a0bad57

mammothcoding changed the title ~~Linux: allow mounting volumes with ntfs3~~ Linux: allow mounting NTFS volumes with ntfs3 Apr 25, 2026

mammothcoding marked this pull request as ready for review April 25, 2026 19:40

Linux: wrap ntfs3 preference help text

600d686

idrassi requested changes Apr 26, 2026

View reviewed changes

mammothcoding added 2 commits April 26, 2026 17:24

Add Linux ntfs3 mount preference

0bce953

Remove Russian translation changes from ntfs3 PR

2411942

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Linux: allow mounting NTFS volumes with ntfs3#1695

Linux: allow mounting NTFS volumes with ntfs3#1695
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		<entry lang="ru" key="LINUX_PREF_MOUNT_NTFS_WITH_NTFS3">Монтировать NTFS-тома через драйвер ядра Linux ntfs3</entry>
		<entry lang="ru" key="LINUX_PREF_MOUNT_NTFS_WITH_NTFS3_HELP">Если включено, VeraCrypt определяет файловые системы NTFS и монтирует их через ntfs3 вместо ntfs-3g/fuseblk. Это может предотвратить зависания при ждущем режиме или гибернации на системах, где пользовательские FUSE-файловые системы замораживаются, пока ядро синхронизирует файловые системы. Модуль ядра ntfs3 должен быть доступен и разрешён дистрибутивом.</entry>

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Summary

Motivation

What changed

Local validation

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idrassi commented Apr 26, 2026

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