# CVE-2025-37956: ksmbd: prevent rename with empty string

> A remote attacker can cause a kernel crash in the ksmbd server by sending a rename request with an empty string, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 20 May 2025
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-37956, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-37956, GHSA-pg93-c2vw-fqj3, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-37956, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2025-37956, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-37956, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-37956

## What is CVE-2025-37956?

CVE-2025-37956 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 20 May 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ksmbd: prevent rename with empty string

Client can send empty newname string to ksmbd server.
It will cause a kernel oops from d_alloc.
This patch return the error when attempting to rename
a file or directory with an empty new name string.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-37956?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-37956?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-37956 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-37956 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-37956 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-37956 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 20 May 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-37956 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-37956/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-37956/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-37956
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-37956
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-37956

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-37956/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.