Samba: smbd allows client access to unix domain sockets on the file system as root
Priority MEDIUM 47CWE-22Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 22 fixed, 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
A path traversal vulnerability was identified in Samba when processing client pipe names connecting to Unix domain sockets within a private directory. Samba typically uses this mechanism to connect SMB clients to remote procedure call (RPC) services like SAMR LSA or SPOOLSS, which Samba initiates on demand. However, due to inadequate sanitization of incoming client pipe names, allowing a client to send a pipe name containing Unix directory traversal characters (../). This could result in SMB clients connecting as root to Unix domain sockets outside the private directory. If an attacker or client managed to send a pipe name resolving to an external service using an existing Unix domain socket, it could potentially lead to unauthorized access to the service and consequential adverse events, including compromise or service crashes.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.02688 85th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Public exploit Yes 1 exploit referenceTagged by NVD
Fix Partial Red Hat: 6 advisoriesRed Hat: 22 fixed, 1 without a fix
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | — | 4.18.6-2.el8_9 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | — | 4.18.6-2.el8_9 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support | — | 4.15.5-13.el8_6 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Extended Update Support | — | 4.17.5-4.el8_8 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | — | 4.18.6-101.el9_3 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | — | 4.18.6-101.el9_3 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0 Extended Update Support | — | 4.15.5-111.el9_0 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Extended Update Support | — | 4.17.5-104.el9_2 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Virtualization 4 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | — | 4.15.5-13.el8_6 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | — | — | Not affected | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | — | — | Not affected | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | — | — | Not affected | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Storage 3 | — | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 4.18.6-2.el8_9 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 4.18.6-2.el8_9 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 4.15.5-13.el8_6 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Extended Update Support VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 4.17.5-4.el8_8 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 4.18.6-101.el9_3 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 4.18.6-101.el9_3 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0 Extended Update Support VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 4.15.5-111.el9_0 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Extended Update Support VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 4.17.5-104.el9_2 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Virtualization 4 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 4.15.5-13.el8_6 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — Not affected CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — Not affected CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — Not affected CNA
- Red Hat Storage 3 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 5
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:samba:samba:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 4.17.12; 4.18.0 to before 4.18.8; 4.19.0 to before 4.19.1 | Vulnerable | Samba |
| cpe:2.3:a:redhat:storage:3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 3.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 8.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_eus:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 9.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:39:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 39 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
- cpe:2.3:a:samba:samba:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 4.17.12; 4.18.0 to before 4.18.8; 4.19.0 to before 4.19.1 Vulnerable ·Samba
- cpe:2.3:a:redhat:storage:3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 3.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_eus:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 9.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:39:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 39 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
Remediation
Red Hat 6 advisories
- RHSA-2023:7467 Released 2023-11-22 · Red Hat rating Moderatesamba security update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) libnetapi-devel-4.18.6-2.el8_9, libsmbclient-devel-4.18.6-2.el8_9, libwbclient-devel-4.18.6-2.el8_9 +2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) samba-vfs-iouring-4.18.6-2.el8_9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) ctdb-4.18.6-2.el8_9, libnetapi-4.18.6-2.el8_9, libsmbclient-4.18.6-2.el8_9 +25
- RHSA-2023:7464 Released 2023-11-22 · Red Hat rating Moderatesamba security update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.8.8) libnetapi-devel-4.17.5-4.el8_8, libsmbclient-devel-4.17.5-4.el8_8, libwbclient-devel-4.17.5-4.el8_8 +2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.8.8) samba-vfs-iouring-4.17.5-4.el8_8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.8.8) ctdb-4.17.5-4.el8_8, libnetapi-4.17.5-4.el8_8, libsmbclient-4.17.5-4.el8_8 +25
- RHSA-2023:7408 Released 2023-11-21 · Red Hat rating Moderatesamba security update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.8.6) libsmbclient-devel-4.15.5-13.el8_6, libwbclient-devel-4.15.5-13.el8_6, samba-devel-4.15.5-13.el8_6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.8.6) samba-vfs-iouring-4.15.5-13.el8_6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.8.6) ctdb-4.15.5-13.el8_6, libsmbclient-4.15.5-13.el8_6, libwbclient-4.15.5-13.el8_6 +18
- Red Hat Virtualization 4 Hypervisor for RHEL 8 libsmbclient-4.15.5-13.el8_6, libwbclient-4.15.5-13.el8_6, samba-4.15.5-13.el8_6 +3
Show 3 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2023:7371 Released 2023-11-21 · Red Hat rating Moderatesamba security update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.2) libnetapi-devel-4.17.5-104.el9_2, libsmbclient-devel-4.17.5-104.el9_2, libwbclient-devel-4.17.5-104.el9_2 +6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.2) samba-client-4.17.5-104.el9_2, samba-krb5-printing-4.17.5-104.el9_2, samba-vfs-iouring-4.17.5-104.el9_2 +3
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.9.2) libnetapi-4.17.5-104.el9_2, libsmbclient-4.17.5-104.el9_2, libwbclient-4.17.5-104.el9_2 +15
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Resilient Storage EUS (v.9.2) ctdb-4.17.5-104.el9_2
- RHSA-2023:6744 Released 2023-11-07 · Red Hat rating Moderatesamba security update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) libnetapi-devel-4.18.6-101.el9_3, libsmbclient-devel-4.18.6-101.el9_3, libwbclient-devel-4.18.6-101.el9_3 +6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) samba-client-4.18.6-101.el9_3, samba-krb5-printing-4.18.6-101.el9_3, samba-vfs-iouring-4.18.6-101.el9_3 +3
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) libnetapi-4.18.6-101.el9_3, libsmbclient-4.18.6-101.el9_3, libwbclient-4.18.6-101.el9_3 +15
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Resilient Storage (v. 9) ctdb-4.18.6-101.el9_3
- RHSA-2023:6209 Released 2023-10-31 · Red Hat rating Moderatesamba security update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.0) libsmbclient-devel-4.15.5-111.el9_0, libwbclient-devel-4.15.5-111.el9_0, samba-devel-4.15.5-111.el9_0 +3
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.0) samba-client-4.15.5-111.el9_0, samba-krb5-printing-4.15.5-111.el9_0, samba-vfs-iouring-4.15.5-111.el9_0 +3
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.9.0) libsmbclient-4.15.5-111.el9_0, libwbclient-4.15.5-111.el9_0, python3-samba-4.15.5-111.el9_0 +8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Resilient Storage EUS (v.9.0) ctdb-4.15.5-111.el9_0
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Advisory ·
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and 8 more products — RHSA-2023:6209
3 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 1 MEDIUM, 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2023-03787 Samba: smb clients can truncate files with read-only permissionsPriority LOW 34
- TI-2023-22772 Samba: "rpcecho" development server allows denial of service via sleep() call on ad dcPriority LOW 33
- Advisory ·
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and 8 more products — RHSA-2023:6744
3 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 1 MEDIUM, 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2023-03787 Samba: smb clients can truncate files with read-only permissionsPriority LOW 34
- TI-2023-22772 Samba: "rpcecho" development server allows denial of service via sleep() call on ad dcPriority LOW 33
Show 4 more groups
- Advisory ·
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and 8 more products — RHSA-2023:7371
3 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 1 MEDIUM, 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2023-03787 Samba: smb clients can truncate files with read-only permissionsPriority LOW 34
- TI-2023-22772 Samba: "rpcecho" development server allows denial of service via sleep() call on ad dcPriority LOW 33
- Advisory ·
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and 8 more products — RHSA-2023:7408
3 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 1 MEDIUM, 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2023-03787 Samba: smb clients can truncate files with read-only permissionsPriority LOW 34
- TI-2023-22772 Samba: "rpcecho" development server allows denial of service via sleep() call on ad dcPriority LOW 33
- Advisory ·
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and 8 more products — RHSA-2023:7464
3 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 1 MEDIUM, 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2023-03787 Samba: smb clients can truncate files with read-only permissionsPriority LOW 34
- TI-2023-22772 Samba: "rpcecho" development server allows denial of service via sleep() call on ad dcPriority LOW 33
- Advisory ·
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and 8 more products — RHSA-2023:7467
3 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 1 MEDIUM, 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2023-03787 Samba: smb clients can truncate files with read-only permissionsPriority LOW 34
- TI-2023-22772 Samba: "rpcecho" development server allows denial of service via sleep() call on ad dcPriority LOW 33
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Storage 3 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7467 |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:6744 |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7408 |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.8.8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7464 |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:6209 |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.2) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7371 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7467 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:6744 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7408 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.8.8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7464 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:6209 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.2) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7371 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7467 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:6744 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7408 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.8.8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7464 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:6209 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.9.2) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7371 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Resilient Storage (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:6744 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Resilient Storage EUS (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:6209 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Resilient Storage EUS (v.9.2) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7371 |
| Red Hat Virtualization 4 Hypervisor for RHEL 8 | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7408 |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-3961
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-8m6h-6qw7-f6cg
References
More Red Hat Enterprise Linux vulnerabilities
- TI-2019-08259 Underflow in PHP-FPM can lead to RCE KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
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- TI-2014-05975 GNU Bash through 4.3 bash43-025 processes trailing strings after certain malformed… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2014-05157 GNU Bash through 4.3 processes trailing strings after function definitions in the values… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2025-23530 Sudo before 1.9.17p1 allows local users to obtain root access because /etc/nsswitch.conf… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.3
- TI-2021-17490 mod_proxy SSRF KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.0
Sources
- CVE-2023-3961 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-3961 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-8m6h-6qw7-f6cg · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2023-3961 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences