CVE-2025-71223 smb/server: fix refcount leak in smb2_open()
A refcount leak in the Linux kernel's SMB server can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service when file attribute retrieval fails.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2025-71223?
CVE-2025-71223 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 14 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
smb/server: fix refcount leak in smb2_open()
When ksmbd_vfs_getattr() fails, the reference count of ksmbd_file must be released.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-71223?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2025-71223?
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-2025-71223 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-71223 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2025-71223, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-71223, GHSA-wc6c-368q-8vvv, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-71223, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2025-71223, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-71223 and 1 more.