CVE-2023-54260 cifs: Fix lost destroy smbd connection when MR allocate failed
A memory leak in the Linux kernel CIFS module can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service when SMB Direct connection allocation fails.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2023-54260?
CVE-2023-54260 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 30 Dec 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
cifs: Fix lost destroy smbd connection when MR allocate failed
If the MR allocate failed, the smb direct connection info is NULL, then smbd_destroy() will directly return, then the connection info will be leaked.
Let's set the smb direct connection info to the server before call smbd_destroy().
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54260?
How do I fix CVE-2023-54260?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2023-54260 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54260 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-54260, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54260, GHSA-53m3-7xgw-52vj, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54260.