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CVE-2026-89636
smb: client: clear ce->tgthint in free_tgts()
Published 2026-09-11 (37 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem fs/smb. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-89636 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | fixedDLA-4841-1 · 2026-10-17 · text | 6.1.190-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4841-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-17, in 6.1.190-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixedDSA-6528-1 · 2026-09-29 · text | 6.12.111-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6528-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-29, in 6.12.111-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12 | fixedDLA-4817-1 · 2026-10-04 · text | 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4817-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-04, in 6.12.111-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
When free_tgts() frees all structures in ce->tlist, ce->tgthint is left pointing to one of the freed cache_dfs_tgt structures. If ce->tgthint is not reset before it is used later, it results in a use-after-free. Set ce->tgthint to NULL in free_tgts() after the elements are freed to reflect that no elements remain.
Where it lives
The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.
fs/smb/client/dfs_cache.c
- What this is
- COMMON INTERNET FILE SYSTEM CLIENT (CIFS and SMB3)MAINTAINERS section matched on fs/smb/client/ · linux-cifs@vger.kernel.org · Supported
- Kernel module
- cifs
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_CIFS|CONFIG_CIFS_DFS_UPCALL|CONFIG_SMBFS' /boot/config-$(uname -r)Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.
lsmod | grep -w cifsPrints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian builds this as a loadable module. Every release below compiles it as a module on every flavour, so whether the code is in the running kernel depends on whether that module is loaded.
- bookworm, trixie, forky, sid, bookworm · linux-6.12m
- m
- a loadable module on every flavour - check lsmod, can be blacklisted
- Build switches
- CONFIG_CIFS, CONFIG_CIFS_DFS_UPCALL, CONFIG_SMBFS
- Reads as
- all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.
From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages
Signals
- Published
- 2026-09-11 (37 days ago)source
- CVSS
- 9.8 critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- network (AV:N)source
- EPSS
- 0.66%, higher than 50.7% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- fs/smb
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 5.0 | 6.1.188 | 14f60e959b5a |
| 5.0 | 6.6.157 | 3ff9462bb7a0 |
| 5.0 | 6.12.109 | 7507bd188564 |
| 5.0 | 6.18.50 | 9ab46a13798a |
| 5.0 | 7.2.4 | 5baab40404a9 |
| 5.0 | 7.3 | b1b741cf8e7c |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4841-1 | 2026-10-17 | bookworm 6.1.190-1 | tracker |
| DLA-4817-1 | 2026-10-04 | bookworm 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | tracker |
| DSA-6528-1 | 2026-09-29 | trixie 6.12.111-1 | tracker |
Why the CNA scored it this way
Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source
- AV:NAttack vector, network
- The dangling ce->tgthint is created while handling FSCTL_DFS_GET_REFERRALS/TRANS2_GET_DFS_REFERRAL replies from a remote SMB server over TCP/445 (smb2_get_dfs_refer → cache_refresh_path → update_cache_entry_locked → free_tgts). A malicious, compromised, or MITM'd DFS server reaches this purely over the network.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- A hostile DFS server controls referral TTL (down to CACHE_MIN_TTL), target lists, and TCP resets that drive dfs_cache_refresh and reconnect into update_cache_entry_locked; after free_tgts() the later get_tgt_name()/dfs_cache_noreq_update_tgthint() use is deterministic, and the attacker can size and retry referrals to leave the stale hint and reclaim the slab.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- The attacker is the remote SMB/DFS peer (or a MITM on an unsigned session) and needs no account, capability, or local privileges on the victim; the client authenticates to that server, and the kernel DFS cache parses the reply regardless of which local user owns the mount.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- Once a DFS CIFS mount exists (fstab, autofs/systemd automount, enterprise DFS, cifsroot), dfs_cache_refresh delayed work and reconnect-driven cifs_tree_connect()/dfs_cache_noreq_find() use the stale tgthint automatically after a server-induced refresh or TCP drop, with no further user action.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- The use-after-free is of kmalloc'd cache_dfs_tgt objects in the client kernel heap and remains in the same host kernel security authority; it does not cross a VM, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- get_tgt_name() and dfs_cache_noreq_update_tgthint() dereference the freed cache_dfs_tgt (t->name). Reclaiming that slab with attacker-controlled SMB allocations yields an arbitrary kernel read via kstrdup/strcasecmp of a sprayed name pointer.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- Use-after-free of the heap cache_dfs_tgt enables heap spraying and overlapping live objects; the dangling hint is also copied into DFS referral state and used for failover tree-connect, giving a write/control-flow primitive once the object is reclaimed.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Dereferencing the freed cache_dfs_tgt from reconnect (cifs_tree_connect → dfs_cache_noreq_find) or dfs_cache_find oopses or panics the client kernel, and a malicious server can retrigger it on every refresh or reconnect.