CVE-2026-72422
Received Received - Intake

BaseFortify

Vulnerability report for CVE-2026-72422, including description, CVSS score, EPSS score, affected products, exploitability, helpful resources, and attack-flow context.

Publication date: 2026-08-15

Last updated on: 2026-08-15

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: fix use-after-free of conn->preauth_info in concurrent SMB2 NEGOTIATE conn->preauth_info is shared connection state (struct preauth_integrity_info, kmalloc-96) that is allocated and freed by the SMB2 NEGOTIATE handler and read by the response send path. smb2_handle_negotiate() allocates conn->preauth_info, and on a deassemble_neg_contexts() failure kfrees it and sets it to NULL. Both the allocation and the free/NULL happen under ksmbd_conn_lock(conn) (the connection srv_mutex), which is held across the whole handler body. The response send path smb3_preauth_hash_rsp(), called from the send: block of __handle_ksmbd_work(), reads conn->preauth_info and dereferences conn->preauth_info->Preauth_HashValue (via ksmbd_gen_preauth_integrity_hash()) without taking conn_lock. When a client drives two SMB2 NEGOTIATE requests on the same connection, one worker can free conn->preauth_info on the failing-negotiate path while a concurrent send-path worker is reading it, producing a slab use-after-free read (KASAN-confirmed). The send-path read tested conn->preauth_info for NULL but raced with the free that occurs between the NULL check and the dereference, so the NULL guard alone does not close the window. Serialize the NEGOTIATE-branch read in smb3_preauth_hash_rsp() under ksmbd_conn_lock(conn) and re-check conn->preauth_info inside the lock. Because the negotiate handler holds conn_lock across its kfree + NULL assignment, a reader that also takes conn_lock either runs fully before the allocation or fully after the NULL store, and can never observe the freed-but-not-yet-NULLed pointer. ksmbd_gen_preauth_integrity_hash() takes no locks itself (it only computes a SHA-512 over the buffer), so no lock-ordering inversion is introduced, and conn_lock is a sleepable mutex which is safe on this send path (it already performs network I/O).

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
Percentile:

Meta Information

Published
2026-08-15
Last Modified
2026-08-15
Generated
2026-08-15
AI Q&A
2026-08-15
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
EUVD

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux_kernel ksmbd *

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
CWE Icon
KEV
KEV Icon
CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

Attack-Flow Graph

AI Quick Actions

Instant insights powered by AI
Executive Summary

This is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ksmbd SMB server implementation. It occurs when two SMB2 NEGOTIATE requests are processed concurrently on the same connection. One request may free the connection's preauth_info structure while another is simultaneously reading it, leading to a memory corruption issue.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the ksmbd kernel module in Linux and involves a use-after-free condition during SMB2 NEGOTIATE operations. Detection requires checking for kernel logs indicating ksmbd-related crashes or memory corruption, particularly during SMB protocol negotiations. Look for KASAN or slab corruption errors in system logs.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability could allow an attacker to cause a denial of service by crashing the system or potentially execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. It affects systems running vulnerable versions of the Linux kernel with ksmbd enabled.

Mitigation Strategies

Immediate mitigation involves disabling the ksmbd kernel module if it is loaded. Use the command 'lsmod | grep ksmbd' to check if the module is active. If present, unload it with 'sudo rmmod ksmbd'. Additionally, ensure your Linux kernel is updated to a version that includes the fix for this CVE.

Chat Assistant

Ask questions about this CVE
Hi! I’m here to help you understand CVE-2026-72422. Ask me anything about the vulnerability, its impact, or mitigation strategies.
0/70

EPSS Chart