# CVE-2026-98452: smb: client: clean up failed cached directory opens

> A flaw in the Linux kernel SMB client fails to properly clean up cached directory handles, potentially leading to resource exhaustion and denial of service.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **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:** 18 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-109101, BELL-CVE-2026-98452, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98452, GHSA-h9j7-fw85-wm4j, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98452

## What is CVE-2026-98452?

CVE-2026-98452 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 18 Oct 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: clean up failed cached directory opens

open_cached_dir() sends CREATE and QUERY_INFO as a compound request. If
the CREATE succeeds but a later command returns an error, the function
must retain the CREATE FID so common cleanup can issue SMB2_close(). It
also must not treat a response error as a valid CREATE.

Validate the CREATE response before using its fields, record the FIDs, and
mark the handle open before handling errors from later compound commands.
Move the -EREMCHG reconnect handling before response validation so a
missing response does not hide the reconnect request. Count the handle
when it is marked open; confirmed close responses decrement the counter,
while existing close retry behavior remains best effort on transport
failures.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98452?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98452?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98452 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98452 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98452 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98452 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 18 Oct 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-2026-98452 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-2026-98452/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98452/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98452
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98452
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98452

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98452/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.