smb: client: reject a tree connect response whose byte count is too small
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 11 fixed, 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: reject a tree connect response whose byte count is too small CIFSTCon() bounds its strnlen() over the byte area with the server's ByteCount minus two, which for ByteCount 0 or 1 goes negative as an int and converts to a huge size_t. The later subtraction wraps the __u16 bytes_left, and that is what bounds cifs_strndup_from_utf16(): a bound of up to 65535 against a ~16 KB cifs_req_poolp object runs off the end of the slab object, and the bytes reach userspace through tcon->nativeFileSystem in /proc/fs/cifs/DebugData. Reject a byte area too small for what the parser consumes. Two bytes is the least it can consume, and no conformant response carries fewer. The new trace point is the 129th smb_eio_trace entry, which __mode(byte) cannot represent, so the attribute goes with it.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.114, 6.18.51, 7.2.4, 7.3
Red Hat 3 advisories
- RHSA-2026:85773 Released 2026-10-20 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) bpftool-4.18.0-553.176.1.el8_10, kernel-4.18.0-553.176.1.el8_10, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-553.176.1.el8_10 +19
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) kernel-tools-libs-devel-4.18.0-553.176.1.el8_10
- RHSA-2026:85774 Released 2026-10-20 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel-rt security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 8) kernel-rt-4.18.0-553.176.1.rt7.517.el8_10, kernel-rt-core-4.18.0-553.176.1.rt7.517.el8_10, kernel-rt-debug-4.18.0-553.176.1.rt7.517.el8_10 +9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 8) kernel-rt-4.18.0-553.176.1.rt7.517.el8_10, kernel-rt-core-4.18.0-553.176.1.rt7.517.el8_10, kernel-rt-debug-4.18.0-553.176.1.rt7.517.el8_10 +7
- RHSA-2026:85321 Released 2026-10-19 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- 10Base-SMTV kernel-modules-internal-6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) kernel-64k-debug-devel-6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2, kernel-64k-devel-6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2 +12
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) kernel-6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2, kernel-64k-6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2, kernel-64k-core-6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2 +29
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 10) kernel-tools-libs-devel-6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2, libperf-6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Hidden (v. 10) kernel-modules-internal-6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 10) kernel-rt-6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2, kernel-rt-64k-6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2, kernel-rt-64k-core-6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2 +21
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 10) kernel-rt-6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2, kernel-rt-core-6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2, kernel-rt-debug-6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2 +9
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
| 10Base-SMTV | Fixed | RHSA-2026:85321 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:85321 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:85321 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:85773 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:85773 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:85321 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Hidden (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:85321 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:85774 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:85774 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:85321 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:85321 |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-89631
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-95qf-fgcq-pcrc
- 2026-10-18 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-20 Fix available: RHSA-2026:85321 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-20 Fix available: RHSA-2026:85773 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-20 Fix available: RHSA-2026:85774 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-20 Fix available: 10Base-SMTV, Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10), Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) +8 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-21 Fix available: Linux/Linux@2ae219762ebac929bf6ab3473681f10ed566af08, Linux/[email protected], Linux/[email protected] +1 · CNA
- 2026-10-21 2 new references · CNA
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/Linux@bb99866cb1d3d5e8201200a8692fd8da3106a8fd · CNA
- 2026-10-30 1 new reference · CNA
References
Other 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bb99866cb1d3d5e8201200a8692fd8da3106a8fd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d837645a719151ed392d4d9cab4571c2753dab12
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2ae219762ebac929bf6ab3473681f10ed566af08
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3be89e8039a85fa3b6cd5f9dcc4c1459eb356c2d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/411e484fe71a7f1028de617447edad9cb6d9d68a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/65deb18359341141d37dc86fc7853511be3c87a7
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Sources
- CVE-2026-89631 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-89631 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-95qf-fgcq-pcrc · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-89631 · 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