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).
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).
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
|
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| Linux | Linux | affected |
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Fixes
Solution
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Workaround
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References
History
Sat, 15 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| 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). | |
| Title | ksmbd: fix use-after-free of conn->preauth_info in concurrent SMB2 NEGOTIATE | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
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Projects
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MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-08-15T05:56:41.090Z
Reserved: 2026-08-09T03:40:39.927Z
Link: CVE-2026-72422
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-08-15T06:22:15.987
Modified: 2026-08-15T06:22:15.987
Link: CVE-2026-72422
Redhat
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OpenCVE Enrichment
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Weaknesses
No weakness.