# CVE-2026-89638: smb: client: clear setuid/setgid bit on write with cifsacl/modefromsid/posix extensions

> Attackers can retain setuid/setgid bits on SMB files when using specific mount options, leading to privilege escalation upon execution.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 11 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-100353, BELL-CVE-2026-89638, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-89638, GHSA-7hx7-9jhj-445w, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-89638

## What is CVE-2026-89638?

CVE-2026-89638 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 11 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

smb: client: clear setuid/setgid bit on write with cifsacl/modefromsid/posix extensions

When a file has the setuid or setgid bit set and is written to, the VFS
strips those bits and issues a setattr with ATTR_KILL_SUID/ATTR_KILL_SGID
together with an ATTR_MODE carrying the already-cleared mode.

Both cifs_setattr_unix() and cifs_setattr_nounix() unconditionally dropped
ATTR_MODE in that case:

	/* skip mode change if it's just for clearing setuid/setgid */
	if (attrs->ia_valid & (ATTR_KILL_SUID|ATTR_KILL_SGID))
		attrs->ia_valid &= ~ATTR_MODE;

This is fine for the default mount, where the mode is only emulated via
the DOS read-only attribute and cannot represent the setuid/setgid bits
anyway.  However, with the "cifsacl" or "modefromsid" mount options the
mode is stored on the server through an ACL (id_mode_to_cifs_acl()), with
the SMB3.1.1 POSIX extensions the mode is sent to the server directly,
and with the SMB1 Unix extensions (cifs_setattr_unix) the mode is sent
via CIFSSMBUnixSetPathInfo().  In all those cases dropping ATTR_MODE means
the cleared mode is never pushed to the server, so the setuid/setgid bit
survives the write.

This is a security issue: on local filesystems the setuid bit is stripped
when a file is written, but over these cifs.ko mounts the bit persists on
the server, potentially allowing an unexpected privilege escalation on
subsequent execution.

Fix this in two places:

  1. cifs_setattr_nounix(): only take the "skip mode change" shortcut
     when the mode is emulated via the DOS read-only attribute (i.e.
     neither cifsacl/modefromsid nor the SMB3.1.1 POSIX extensions are
     in effect), so that the cleared mode is propagated to the server
     in the ACL / POSIX cases.

  2. cifs_setattr_unix(): this function is only called when Unix
     extensions are in effect, so the mode is always stored on the
     server.  Remove the shortcut entirely so that the cleared mode is
     always pushed.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-89638?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-89638?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-89638 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-89638 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-89638 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-89638 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 11 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-89638 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-89638/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-89638/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-89638
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89638
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-89638

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-89638/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.