# CVE-2026-98124: smb/client: invalidate fscache for fallocate range operations

> A local attacker with access to a CIFS mount using FS-Cache can read stale data after server-side file modifications due to cache invalidation failures.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 25 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-104756, BELL-CVE-2026-98124, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98124, GHSA-wcf3-p4hx-gg65, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98124

## What is CVE-2026-98124?

CVE-2026-98124 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 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: invalidate fscache for fallocate range operations

smb3_zero_range(), smb3_punch_hole(), smb3_insert_range(), and
smb3_collapse_range() modify file contents through server-side range
operations. These operations discard the affected page cache, but leave
the FS-Cache cookie valid, so a later read may return data cached before
the range operation.

Fix this by invalidating FS-Cache after outstanding I/O has completed
and before modifying the file on the server.

Run the following as root on a CIFS mount with fsc enabled and an active
CacheFiles backend:

        bash -c '
                MNT=/mnt/cifs
                FILE="$MNT/repro"

                # Generate four 1 MiB random blocks: [A][B][C][D].
                dd if=/dev/urandom of=/tmp/src bs=1M count=4 status=none

                # Expected contents after zeroing B: [A][zero][C][D].
                cp /tmp/src /tmp/expected
                dd if=/dev/zero of=/tmp/expected bs=1M seek=1 count=1 \
                        conv=notrunc status=none
                cp /tmp/src "$FILE"

                # Populate FS-Cache, then discard the page cache.
                sync
                echo 1 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches
                cat "$FILE" > /dev/null
                sync
                echo 1 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches

                fallocate --zero-range -o 1M -l 1M "$FILE"

                if cmp -s /tmp/expected "$FILE"; then
                        echo "readback: OK"
                else
                        echo "readback: STALE DATA"
                fi
        '

Before this change, the readback differs from /tmp/expected:

        readback: STALE DATA

After this change, it matches:

        readback: OK

Weakness: CWE-672 (Operation on a Resource after Expiration or Release)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98124?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-98124?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98124 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98124 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-2026-98124 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98124 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 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-2026-98124 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-2026-98124/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98124/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98124
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98124
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98124

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98124/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.