CVE-2026-72356 cifs: Fix missing credit release on failure in cifs_issue_read()
A missing credit release in the Linux kernel CIFS module can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service during read failures.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-72356?
CVE-2026-72356 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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:
cifs: Fix missing credit release on failure in cifs_issue_read()
Fix missing release of credits in the failure path in cifs_issue_read() lest retrying the subreq just overwrites the credits value.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72356?
How do I fix CVE-2026-72356?
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-2026-72356 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72356 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-72356, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72356, GHSA-fvfj-x9c7-958j, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72356.