CVE-2026-45972 smb: client: fix potential UAF and double free in smb2_open_file()

What is CVE-2026-45972?

CVE-2026-45972 is a critical use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 May 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:

smb: client: fix potential UAF and double free in smb2_open_file()

Zero out @err_iov and @err_buftype before retrying SMB2_open() to prevent an UAF bug if @data != NULL, otherwise a double free.

Weakness: CWE-416, CWE-825

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-45972?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-45972?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.

Is CVE-2026-45972 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-45972 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-45972, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-45972, GHSA-6w7x-q46j-6x9r, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-45972, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45972.