smb: server: fix active_num_conn leak on transport allocation failure
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-401.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: server: fix active_num_conn leak on transport allocation failure Commit 77ffbcac4e56 ("smb: server: fix leak of active_num_conn in ksmbd_tcp_new_connection()") addressed the kthread_run() failure path. The earlier alloc_transport() == NULL path in the same function has the same leak, is reachable pre-authentication via any TCP connect to port 445, and was empirically reproduced on UML (ARCH=um, v7.0-rc7): a small number of forced allocation failures were sufficient to put ksmbd into a state where every subsequent connection attempt was rejected for the remainder of the boot. ksmbd_kthread_fn() increments active_num_conn before calling ksmbd_tcp_new_connection() and discards the return value, so when alloc_transport() returns NULL the socket is released and -ENOMEM returned without decrementing the counter. Each such failure permanently consumes one slot from the max_connections pool; once cumulative failures reach the cap, atomic_inc_return() hits the threshold on every subsequent accept and every new connection is rejected. The counter is only reset by module reload. An unauthenticated remote attacker can drive the server toward the memory pressure that makes alloc_transport() fail by holding open connections with large RFC1002 lengths up to MAX_STREAM_PROT_LEN (0x00FFFFFF); natural transient allocation failures on a loaded host produce the same drift more slowly. Mirror the existing rollback pattern in ksmbd_kthread_fn(): on the alloc_transport() failure path, decrement active_num_conn gated on server_conf.max_connections. Repro details: with the patch reverted, forced alloc_transport() NULL returns leaked counter slots and subsequent connection attempts -- including legitimate connects issued after the forced-fail window had closed -- were all rejected with "Limit the maximum number of connections". With this patch applied, the same connect sequence produces no rejections and the counter cycles cleanly between zero and one on every accept.
Why it matters now
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.15.91 to before 5.15.210; 6.1.9 to before 6.1.175 | 5.15.210, 6.1.175 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 6.2 and later | 5.15.210, 6.1.175, 6.6.136, 6.12.84, 6.18.25, 7.0.2, 7.1 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.15.91 to before 5.15.210; 6.1.9 to before 6.1.175 Fixed in 5.15.210, 6.1.175 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.2 and later Fixed in 5.15.210, 6.1.175, 6.6.136, 6.12.84, 6.18.25, 7.0.2, 7.1 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 5
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.15.91 to before 5.16; 6.1.9 to before 6.2; 6.2.1 to before 6.6.136; 6.7 to before 6.12.84; 6.13 to before 6.18.25; 6.19 to before 7.0.2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:-:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.2 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.2 rc7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.2 rc8 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.15.91 to before 5.16; 6.1.9 to before 6.2; 6.2.1 to before 6.6.136; 6.7 to before 6.12.84; 6.13 to before 6.18.25; 6.19 to before 7.0.2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:-:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.2 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.2 rc7 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.2 rc8 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.210, 6.1.175
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.210, 6.1.175, 6.6.136, 6.12.84, 6.18.25, 7.0.2, 7.1
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 5 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-31711
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-f3m4-27m2-3p6q
- 2026-10-14 EPSS moved to the below the 50th percentile
- 2026-10-20 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Patch 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/97f8d2648ef4871e4cd335e2d769cb40054a6772
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/295a9fc6789d1011c36ded9f0f2907bb34fa0de4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/283027aa93380380a0994f35dde3ec95318f2654
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fb48185bcd946d42de7017cf27f912f8ab26acf0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6551300dc452ac16a855a83dbd1e74899542d3b3
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- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2026-31711 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-31711 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-f3m4-27m2-3p6q · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-31711 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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