# CVE-2026-53383: ksmbd: reject non-VALID session in compound request branch

> A remote attacker can cause a kernel crash and denial of service by sending a crafted compound SMB2 request to the ksmbd server.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 19 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-53383, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53383, GHSA-pgwm-2698-9pp5, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-53383, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-53383

## What is CVE-2026-53383?

CVE-2026-53383 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jul 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: reject non-VALID session in compound request branch

smb2_check_user_session() takes a shortcut for any operation that is not
the first in a COMPOUND request: it reuses work->sess (the session bound by
the first operation) and validates only the SessionId, then returns
"valid". It never re-checks work->sess->state == SMB2_SESSION_VALID, and a
SessionId of 0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF (ULLONG_MAX, the MS-SMB2 related-operation
value) skips even the id comparison. The standalone path
(ksmbd_session_lookup_all() plus the SESSION_SETUP state machine) does
enforce the VALID state; the compound branch bypasses all of it.

A SESSION_SETUP carrying only an NTLM Type-1 (NtLmNegotiate) blob publishes
a fresh SMB2_SESSION_IN_PROGRESS session whose sess->user is still NULL
(->user is assigned later, by ntlm_authenticate()). Used as operation 1 of
a COMPOUND with operation 2 = TREE_CONNECT (related, SessionId=ULLONG_MAX,
\\host\IPC$), the tree-connect then runs on that IN_PROGRESS session and
reaches ksmbd_ipc_tree_connect_request(), which dereferences
user_name(sess->user) with sess->user == NULL (transport_ipc.c:687/701/704)
-> remote NULL-pointer dereference and a kernel Oops that wedges the ksmbd
worker for all clients.

Reject any non-first compound operation that lands on a session which is
not SMB2_SESSION_VALID, mirroring the validity the standalone lookup path
enforces. SESSION_SETUP itself legitimately runs on an IN_PROGRESS session,
but it is never carried as a non-first compound operation, so multi-leg
authentication is unaffected by this check.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53383?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-53383?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-53383 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53383 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-2026-53383 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-53383 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jul 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-2026-53383 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-2026-53383/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53383/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53383
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53383
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-53383

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53383/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.