CVE-2026-72318

Received Received - Intake

Buffer Overflow in Linux Kernel CIFS DFS Referral Handling

Publication date: 2026-08-15

Last updated on: 2026-08-17

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cifs: validate DFS referral string offsets parse_dfs_referrals() validates that the response header and referral array fit in the received buffer, but each referral also contains string offsets supplied by the server. Those offsets are used to compute the DfsPath and NetworkAddress string pointers without checking whether they still point inside the response buffer. A malformed referral can therefore make the computed pointer exceed the end of the buffer. The resulting negative max_len is then passed to cifs_strndup_from_utf16(), and the non-Unicode path forwards it to kstrndup() as a size_t, allowing strnlen() to read out of bounds. Validate each string offset before deriving the string pointer.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-08-15

Last Modified

2026-08-17

Generated

2026-09-04

AI Q&A

2026-08-15

EPSS Evaluated

2026-09-03

NVD

CVE-2026-72318

EUVD

EUVD-2026-59217

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
linux	linux_kernel	*

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability in the Linux kernel involves improper validation of DFS referral string offsets in the CIFS (Common Internet File System) component. A malformed server response can cause string pointers to exceed buffer limits, leading to out-of-bounds memory reads when processing the data.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability involves a buffer overflow in the Linux kernel's CIFS (Common Internet File System) module due to improper validation of DFS referral string offsets. Detection requires checking for kernel versions affected by this issue and monitoring for unusual network traffic patterns or crashes related to CIFS operations. No specific commands are provided in the context to directly detect this vulnerability.

Impact Analysis

An attacker could exploit this to cause memory corruption, crashes, or potentially execute arbitrary code on systems using the affected Linux kernel. It may lead to denial-of-service conditions or unauthorized access if combined with other vulnerabilities.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability does not directly affect compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, or similar standards as it pertains to a buffer overflow in the Linux kernel's CIFS (Common Internet File System) module. Compliance impacts would depend on system configuration and data exposure, not the vulnerability itself.

Mitigation Strategies

Immediate mitigation involves updating the Linux kernel to a patched version that includes the fix for this vulnerability. Since the issue is resolved in the kernel, applying the latest security updates from your Linux distribution is critical. Monitor vendor advisories for kernel updates addressing CVE-2026-72318.

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