CVE-2026-98420
UnknownSummary
In the Linux kernel, the ksmbd (SMB server) module mishandles SMB2 session expiration. The ksmbd_session_register() function destroyed valid sessions after ten seconds of inactivity whenever a client started another SessionSetup exchange, confusing Session.IdleTime with Session.ExpirationTime. This invalidated tree connects and caused mapped drives to fail with STATUS_NETWORK_NAME_DELETED.
Risk Assessment
Users accessing SMB shares may experience sudden disconnections of mapped drives and loss of file access. This can disrupt work, cause application errors on network shares, and make troubleshooting difficult.
Recommendation
Update the Linux kernel to a version containing the fix for CVE-2026-98420. If immediate update is not possible, consider limiting concurrent SMB sessions or monitoring server logs for STATUS_NETWORK_NAME_DELETED errors.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel (ksmbd)
See all- CVE-2026-90175Unknown
In the Linux kernel's SMB server (ksmbd), the buffer returned by ksmbd_ipc_login_request_ext() was not freed after ksmbd_alloc_user() calls, causing a memory leak visible in kmemleak. The fix frees this buffer unconditionally.
- CVE-2026-90170Unknown
In the Linux kernel's ksmbd module, ipc_validate_msg() reads length fields (payload_sz, session_key_len, ngroups) from the response buffer supplied by the userspace ksmbd daemon before verifying the buffer is large enough. A short response causes an out-of-bounds read past the end of the allocation, triggering a KASAN slab-out-of-bounds error.
- CVE-2026-90169Unknown
In the Linux kernel's ksmbd module, preauthentication sessions (preauth_session) were not freed on connection teardown. If a client disconnected before sending the authenticate request, the object allocated during NTLM negotiate was not freed by either the authenticate or error cleanup paths, causing a memory leak.
- CVE-2026-90152Unknown
In the ksmbd module of the Linux kernel, ksmbd_session_register() fails to remove the session from sessions_table and drop its table reference when xa_store() fails. This causes a session leak because the reference count stays at 1 and the session is not freed.
- CVE-2026-89788Critical
In the Linux kernel, the ksmbd module contains a use-after-free vulnerability in smb2_tree_connect(). A newly created tree connection is published in the session and then used by the handler, while a concurrent session logoff can free the object before the handler finishes.
- CVE-2026-89635Critical
In the Linux kernel, the ksmbd_reopen_durable_fd() function rebinds every detached oplock on an inode to the reconnecting session instead of only the oplock owned by the reopened file. This allows one session to adopt another session's oplock, and when the adopting session is destroyed, a use-after-free occurs. The vulnerability is reachable with the default durable-handle and oplock configuration when two sessions open the same file with distinct AppInstanceIds.
- CVE-2026-80926Critical
A use-after-free vulnerability was fixed in the Linux kernel's ksmbd oplock break notification mechanism. The smb2_oplock_break_noti() function read the opinfo->conn pointer without locking and dereferenced it after sleeping allocations, allowing a race with durable handle teardown to access a freed connection. The flaw is reachable by any authenticated client holding a durable batch oplock.
- CVE-2026-43376Critical
A vulnerability has been identified in the Linux kernel within ksmbd, related to a use-after-free error due to immediate freeing of the oplock_info structure. This issue occurs when the pointer is nullified without a grace period delay in RCU, allowing access to already freed memory.
- CVE-2026-23428Critical
A use-after-free vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel ksmbd module involving the share_conf object in compound requests. smb2_get_ksmbd_tcon() reuses work->tcon without validating tcon->t_state, so after an earlier SMB2_TREE_DISCONNECT frees share_conf, subsequent commands dereference the freed memory.
- CVE-2023-54203Critical
In the Linux kernel, a vulnerability in the ksmbd module leads to a slab-out-of-bounds read in the init_smb2_rsp_hdr function. The issue occurs when an SMB1 mount attempt fails and the ksmbd server incorrectly handles SMB1 negotiation as an SMB2 operation, causing an out-of-bounds memory read.
Original NVD description (English source)
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: follow SMB2 session expiration semantics ksmbd_session_register() destroys valid sessions after ten seconds of inactivity whenever a client starts another SessionSetup exchange. This confuses Session.IdleTime with Session.ExpirationTime. Windows can create additional authenticated sessions on an existing connection, so deleting the older session invalidates its tree connects and makes mapped drives fail with STATUS_NETWORK_NAME_DELETED. The session expiration rules require the server to change a valid session to expired only after its credential expiration time passes. A valid or expired session otherwise keeps its connection from being scavenged. Connections that have not negotiated a dialect, have no sessions, or have only InProgress sessions are disconnected after an implementation-specific timeout. Use the Windows-compatible 45 second value and run the expiration check periodically for both TCP and SMB Direct. Keep zero as an infinite credential expiration time, and count each Valid-to-Expired transition. Set expired sessions to InProgress when they reauthenticate. If authentication fails, remove the session from the global and per-connection tables immediately, including SMB3 multichannel connections. Retain protection against abandoned SessionId-zero exchanges by allowing only one InProgress authentication per connection. Additional exchanges fail with STATUS_INSUFFICIENT_RESOURCES, and stale InProgress sessions are reaped after the same 45 second setup timeout. This bounds the original unauthenticated memory-exhaustion path without evicting established sessions.
Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS

