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CVE-2026-23427NVD status: Modified

Linux: Use After Free

CVE-2026-23427 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions b0158d9d6f4ec5941e49a0b812735db2844f9975, 568a25fd7bcdfb2790f7d42aa2a440dca4435c96, a5828c14a9e3d5eeed0bcc0a58f0f3fbca0cdcb2 as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.3% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to b0158d9d6f4ec5941e49a0b812735db2844f9975 or 568a25fd7bcdfb2790f7d42aa2a440dca4435c96 or a5828c14a9e3d5eeed0bcc0a58f0f3fbca0cdcb2 or 9b0792c3eacf01e67f356d6ef9707b0ae5022419, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 6.6.130 or 6.12.78 or 6.18.20 or 6.19.10, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux8df4bcdb0a4232192b2445256c39b787d58ef14d up to, but not including, b0158d9d6f4ec5941e49a0b812735db2844f9975; c8efcc786146a951091588e5fa7e3c754850cb3c up to, but not including, 568a25fd7bcdfb2790f7d42aa2a440dca4435c96; c8efcc786146a951091588e5fa7e3c754850cb3c up to, but not including, a5828c14a9e3d5eeed0bcc0a58f0f3fbca0cdcb2; c8efcc786146a951091588e5fa7e3c754850cb3c up to, but not including, 9b0792c3eacf01e67f356d6ef9707b0ae5022419; c8efcc786146a951091588e5fa7e3c754850cb3c up to, but not including, b425e4d0eb321a1116ddbf39636333181675d8f4; 6.6.32 up to, but not including, 6.6.130; 6.9b0158d9d6f4ec5941e49a0b812735db2844f9975, 568a25fd7bcdfb2790f7d42aa2a440dca4435c96, a5828c14a9e3d5eeed0bcc0a58f0f3fbca0cdcb2, 9b0792c3eacf01e67f356d6ef9707b0ae5022419, b425e4d0eb321a1116ddbf39636333181675d8f4, 6.6.130
LinuxLinux Kernel6.6.32 up to, but not including, 6.6.130; 6.9.1 up to, but not including, 6.12.78; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.18.20; 6.19 up to, but not including, 6.19.10; 6.9; 7.06.6.130, 6.12.78, 6.18.20, 6.19.10

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 3.19.8CriticalCNA
CVSS 3.17.8HighNVD

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: fix use-after-free in durable v2 replay of active file handles parse_durable_handle_context() unconditionally assigns dh_info->fp->conn to the current connection when handling a DURABLE_REQ_V2 context with SMB2_FLAGS_REPLAY_OPERATION. ksmbd_lookup_fd_cguid() does not filter by fp->conn, so it returns file handles that are already actively connected. The unconditional overwrite replaces fp->conn, and when the overwriting connection is subsequently freed, __ksmbd_close_fd() dereferences the stale fp->conn via spin_lock(&fp->conn->llist_lock), causing a use-after-free. KASAN report: [ 7.349357] ================================================================== [ 7.349607] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in _raw_spin_lock+0x75/0xe0 [ 7.349811] Write of size 4 at addr ffff8881056ac18c by task kworker/1:2/108 [ 7.350010] [ 7.350064] CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 108 Comm: kworker/1:2 Not tainted 7.0.0-rc3+ #58 PREEMPTLAZY [ 7.350068] Hardware name: QEMU Ubuntu 24.04 PC v2 (i440FX + PIIX, arch_caps fix, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 [ 7.350070] Workqueue: ksmbd-io handle_ksmbd_work [ 7.350083] Call Trace: [ 7.350087] <TASK> [ 7.350087] dump_stack_lvl+0x64/0x80 [ 7.350094] print_report+0xce/0x660 [ 7.350100] ? __pfx__raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x10/0x10 [ 7.350101] ? __pfx___mod_timer+0x10/0x10 [ 7.350106] ? _raw_spin_lock+0x75/0xe0 [ 7.350108] kasan_report+0xce/0x100 [ 7.350109] ? _raw_spin_lock+0x75/0xe0 [ 7.350114] kasan_check_range+0x105/0x1b0 [ 7.350116] _raw_spin_lock+0x75/0xe0 [ 7.350118] ? __pfx__raw_spin_lock+0x10/0x10 [ 7.350119] ? __call_rcu_common.constprop.0+0x25e/0x780 [ 7.350125] ? close_id_del_oplock+0x2cc/0x4e0 [ 7.350128] __ksmbd_close_fd+0x27f/0xaf0 [ 7.350131] ksmbd_close_fd+0x135/0x1b0 [ 7.350133] smb2_close+0xb19/0x15b0 [ 7.350142] ? __pfx_smb2_close+0x10/0x10 [ 7.350143] ? xas_load+0x18/0x270 [ 7.350146] ? _raw_spin_lock+0x84/0xe0 [ 7.350148] ? __pfx__raw_spin_lock+0x10/0x10 [ 7.350150] ? _raw_spin_unlock+0xe/0x30 [ 7.350151] ? ksmbd_smb2_check_message+0xeb2/0x24c0 [ 7.350153] ? ksmbd_tree_conn_lookup+0xcd/0xf0 [ 7.350154] handle_ksmbd_work+0x40f/0x1080 [ 7.350156] process_one_work+0x5fa/0xef0 [ 7.350162] ? assign_work+0x122/0x3e0 [ 7.350163] worker_thread+0x54b/0xf70 [ 7.350165] ? __pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10 [ 7.350166] kthread+0x346/0x470 [ 7.350170] ? recalc_sigpending+0x19b/0x230 [ 7.350176] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 [ 7.350178] ret_from_fork+0x4fb/0x6c0 [ 7.350183] ? __pfx_ret_from_fork+0x10/0x10 [ 7.350185] ? __switch_to+0x36c/0xbe0 [ 7.350188] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 [ 7.350190] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 [ 7.350197] </TASK> [ 7.350197] [ 7.355160] Allocated by task 123: [ 7.355261] kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 [ 7.355373] kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 [ 7.355484] __kasan_kmalloc+0x8f/0xa0 [ 7.355593] ksmbd_conn_alloc+0x44/0x6d0 [ 7.355711] ksmbd_kthread_fn+0x243/0xd70 [ 7.355839] kthread+0x346/0x470 [ 7.355942] ret_from_fork+0x4fb/0x6c0 [ 7.356051] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 [ 7.356164] [ 7.356214] Freed by task 134: [ 7.356305] kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 [ 7.356416] kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 [ 7.356527] kasan_save_free_info+0x3b/0x60 [ 7.356646] __kasan_slab_free+0x43/0x70 [ 7.356761] kfree+0x1ca/0x430 [ 7.356862] ksmbd_tcp_disconnect+0x59/0xe0 [ 7.356993] ksmbd_conn_handler_loop+0x77e/0xd40 [ 7.357138] kthread+0x346/0x470 [ 7.357240] ret_from_fork+0x4fb/0x6c0 [ 7.357350] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 [ 7.357463] [ 7.357513] The buggy address belongs to the object at ffff8881056ac000 [ 7.357513] which belongs to the cache kmalloc-1k of size 1024 [ 7.357857] The buggy address is located 396 bytes inside of [ 7.357857] freed 1024-byte region ---truncated---

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Use After Free

The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
  • When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.

More Use After Free vulnerabilities (CWE-416)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities

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