# CVE-2026-23428: ksmbd: fix use-after-free of share_conf in compound request

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ksmbd module allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service via crafted compound SMB requests.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 3 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-23428, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23428, GHSA-v45r-hfjf-mq4q, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-23428, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-23428, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-23428, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23428, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23428

## What is CVE-2026-23428?

CVE-2026-23428 is a critical use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 3 Apr 2026. 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:

ksmbd: fix use-after-free of share_conf in compound request

smb2_get_ksmbd_tcon() reuses work->tcon in compound requests without
validating tcon->t_state. ksmbd_tree_conn_lookup() checks t_state ==
TREE_CONNECTED on the initial lookup path, but the compound reuse path
bypasses this check entirely.

If a prior command in the compound (SMB2_TREE_DISCONNECT) sets t_state
to TREE_DISCONNECTED and frees share_conf via ksmbd_share_config_put(),
subsequent commands dereference the freed share_conf through
work->tcon->share_conf.

KASAN report:

[    4.144653] ==================================================================
[    4.145059] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in smb2_write+0xc74/0xe70
[    4.145415] Read of size 4 at addr ffff88810430c194 by task kworker/1:1/44
[    4.145772]
[    4.145867] CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 44 Comm: kworker/1:1 Not tainted 7.0.0-rc3+ #60 PREEMPTLAZY
[    4.145871] Hardware name: QEMU Ubuntu 24.04 PC v2 (i440FX + PIIX, arch_caps fix, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014
[    4.145875] Workqueue: ksmbd-io handle_ksmbd_work
[    4.145888] Call Trace:
[    4.145892]  <TASK>
[    4.145894]  dump_stack_lvl+0x64/0x80
[    4.145910]  print_report+0xce/0x660
[    4.145919]  ? __pfx__raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x10/0x10
[    4.145928]  ? smb2_write+0xc74/0xe70
[    4.145931]  kasan_report+0xce/0x100
[    4.145934]  ? smb2_write+0xc74/0xe70
[    4.145937]  smb2_write+0xc74/0xe70
[    4.145939]  ? __pfx_smb2_write+0x10/0x10
[    4.145942]  ? _raw_spin_unlock+0xe/0x30
[    4.145945]  ? ksmbd_smb2_check_message+0xeb2/0x24c0
[    4.145948]  ? smb2_tree_disconnect+0x31c/0x480
[    4.145951]  handle_ksmbd_work+0x40f/0x1080
[    4.145953]  process_one_work+0x5fa/0xef0
[    4.145962]  ? assign_work+0x122/0x3e0
[    4.145964]  worker_thread+0x54b/0xf70
[    4.145967]  ? __pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10
[    4.145970]  kthread+0x346/0x470
[    4.145976]  ? recalc_sigpending+0x19b/0x230
[    4.145980]  ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10
[    4.145984]  ret_from_fork+0x4fb/0x6c0
[    4.145992]  ? __pfx_ret_from_fork+0x10/0x10
[    4.145995]  ? __switch_to+0x36c/0xbe0
[    4.145999]  ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10
[    4.146003]  ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30
[    4.146013]  </TASK>
[    4.146014]
[    4.149858] Allocated by task 44:
[    4.149953]  kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60
[    4.150061]  kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30
[    4.150169]  __kasan_kmalloc+0x8f/0xa0
[    4.150274]  ksmbd_share_config_get+0x1dd/0xdd0
[    4.150401]  ksmbd_tree_conn_connect+0x7e/0x600
[    4.150529]  smb2_tree_connect+0x2e6/0x1000
[    4.150645]  handle_ksmbd_work+0x40f/0x1080
[    4.150761]  process_one_work+0x5fa/0xef0
[    4.150873]  worker_thread+0x54b/0xf70
[    4.150978]  kthread+0x346/0x470
[    4.151071]  ret_from_fork+0x4fb/0x6c0
[    4.151176]  ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30
[    4.151286]
[    4.151332] Freed by task 44:
[    4.151418]  kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60
[    4.151526]  kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30
[    4.151634]  kasan_save_free_info+0x3b/0x60
[    4.151751]  __kasan_slab_free+0x43/0x70
[    4.151861]  kfree+0x1ca/0x430
[    4.151952]  __ksmbd_tree_conn_disconnect+0xc8/0x190
[    4.152088]  smb2_tree_disconnect+0x1cd/0x480
[    4.152211]  handle_ksmbd_work+0x40f/0x1080
[    4.152326]  process_one_work+0x5fa/0xef0
[    4.152438]  worker_thread+0x54b/0xf70
[    4.152545]  kthread+0x346/0x470
[    4.152638]  ret_from_fork+0x4fb/0x6c0
[    4.152743]  ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30
[    4.152853]
[    4.152900] The buggy address belongs to the object at ffff88810430c180
[    4.152900]  which belongs to the cache kmalloc-96 of size 96
[    4.153226] The buggy address is located 20 bytes inside of
[    4.153226]  freed 96-byte region [ffff88810430c180, ffff88810430c1e0)
[    4.153549]
[    4.153596] The buggy address belongs to the physical page:
[    4.153750] page: refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0xffff88810430ce80 pfn:0x10430c
[    4.154000] flags: 0x
---truncated---

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23428?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23428?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23428 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23428 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-2026-23428 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23428 is a critical use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 3 Apr 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23428 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-2026-23428/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23428/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23428
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23428
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23428

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23428/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
