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CVE-2026-98112
ksmbd: fix listener task lifetime on netdev events
Published 2026-09-25 (24 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem fs/smb. Debian urgency: unimportant.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-98112 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 | not affected | 6.1.190-1 | Nothing to do. bookworm never shipped the vulnerable code. |
| Debian 13trixie | not affected | 6.12.113-1 | Nothing to do. trixie never shipped the vulnerable code. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.2.7-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.7-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.2.7-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.7-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
The listener thread exits when its listening socket is shutdown. The netdevice notifier shuts down the socket before calling kthread_stop(), so the task_struct can be freed before kthread_stop() gets its reference. Create the listener in a stopped state and hold an extra task_struct reference until kthread_stop_put() completes. Also stop and release listeners before freeing their interface records during TCP teardown.
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/server/transport_tcp.c
- What this is
- KERNEL SMB3 SERVER (KSMBD)MAINTAINERS section matched on fs/smb/server/ · linux-cifs@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- ksmbd
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_SMBFS|CONFIG_SMB_SERVER' /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 ksmbdPrints 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, sidm
- m
- a loadable module on every flavour - check lsmod, can be blacklisted
- Build switches
- CONFIG_SMBFS, CONFIG_SMB_SERVER
- 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
- 2026-09-25 (24 days ago)source
- CVSS
- 7.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- local (AV:L)source
- EPSS
- 0.12%, higher than 1.7% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- unimportantsource
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 6.19 | 7.2.7 | 40581f10c1e5 |
| 6.19 | 7.3 | a506290f59e1 |
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:LAttack vector, local
- The bug is kthread_stop() on an already-exited listener, reached from ksmbd_netdev_event(NETDEV_DOWN). That event comes from local rtnetlink link up/down. No SMB message carries attacker data to this path, so it is not remote.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- The attacker starts the race: kernel_sock_shutdown() makes the listener exit before kthread_stop() takes its reference. The attacker can repeat it at will by toggling a same-named link. Each NETDEV_UP makes create_socket() start a new listener, so the narrow window can be retried as many times as needed.
- PR:LPrivileges required, low
- ksmbd_netdev_event() matches iface names without checking the network namespace. An unprivileged user in `unshare -Urn` can down their own `lo`, or a veth named like a host interface, with only CAP_NET_ADMIN inside the user namespace, and so run the teardown of the host listener.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- Nothing is needed from an admin or victim beyond ksmbd already running. The attacker sends the netlink link up/down requests themselves inside their own network namespace.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- This is memory corruption inside the kernel that leads to local privilege escalation or a crash within the same kernel authority. It does not cross a hypervisor or other separate security boundary.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- After the listener task_struct is freed and reallocated, kthread_stop() reads to_kthread(k) and kthread->result through a dangling pointer. The attacker can control the reclaimed object, which enables kernel memory disclosure.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- kthread_stop() writes to freed memory: it increments the refcount, does set_bit() on kthread->flags, then calls wake_up_process() and put_task_struct() on the stale task. This corrupts whatever object has reclaimed the memory and can be groomed into a write or an extra free.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Using the freed task_struct/kthread in kthread_stop() under rtnl can cause an oops, a refcount underflow or a hang. Each trigger also tears down ksmbd's real host listener on port 445, so the server stops accepting connections.