CVE-2026-72381 ksmbd: fix use-after-free of fp->owner.name in durable handle owner check
A race condition in the Linux kernel's ksmbd module allows a use-after-free, potentially enabling local attackers to execute code or escalate privileges.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-72381?
CVE-2026-72381 is a critical use after free 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:
ksmbd: fix use-after-free of fp->owner.name in durable handle owner check
Two concurrent SMB2 durable reconnects (DH2C/DHnC) on the same persistent_id race the fp->owner.name compare-read in ksmbd_vfs_compare_durable_owner() against the kfree() in ksmbd_reopen_durable_fd()'s reopen-success path. fp->owner.name is a standalone kstrdup() buffer whose lifetime is independent of the fp refcount, and the two sites share no lock: the compare reads the buffer while the reopen frees it, so the strcmp() can dereference freed memory.
Commit 7ce4fc40018d ("ksmbd: fix durable reconnect double-bind race in ksmbd_reopen_durable_fd") made the fp->conn claim atomic under global_ft.lock (closing the owner.name double-free and the ksmbd_file write-UAF), but the compare-read versus reopen-free pair was left unserialized.
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in strcmp+0x2c/0x80 Read of size 1 by task kworker strcmp ksmbd_vfs_compare_durable_owner smb2_check_durable_oplock smb2_open Freed by task kworker: kfree ksmbd_reopen_durable_fd smb2_open Allocated by task kworker: kstrdup session_fd_check smb2_session_logoff The buggy address belongs to the cache kmalloc-8
Serialize both sides of the race with fp->f_lock. The global durable file-table lock still protects the durable reconnect claim, but fp->owner.name is per-open state and does not need to block unrelated durable table lookups or reconnects. The teardown is left at its existing location after the reopen-success point so that an __open_id() rollback still retains owner.name for a later legitimate reconnect to verify.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72381?
How do I fix CVE-2026-72381?
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-2026-72381 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72381 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-72381, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72381, GHSA-qx34-9c4p-jvq8, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72381.