CVE-2026-97554
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Server Message Block (SMB) client. When handling malformed directory entries with invalid security identifiers, the client fails to verify whether data parsing succeeded before processing file attributes. A malicious or compromised server could exploit this issue to pass uninitialized kernel stack memory to user space services, resulting in information disclosure.
Statement
A moderate information disclosure flaw was found in the Linux kernel SMB client as shipped in Red Hat Enterprise Linux and other Red Hat products that include the kernel. When a CIFS/SMB client lists a directory on a mount served by a malicious or compromised SMB server, the server can return malformed POSIX directory entries containing invalid security identifiers (SIDs). In this situation, cifs_posix_to_fattr() ignores the error return value of posix_info_parse() and passes the uninitialized owner and group SID data from the kernel stack to sid_to_id(), which forwards it through request_key() to the userspace idmap daemon. This can result in limited disclosure of kernel stack contents to userspace. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 ELS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 ELS (kernel and kernel-rt), and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 are not affected because the vulnerable code is not present in those streams. For the affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat In-Vehicle OS, and OpenShift Container Platform streams, the fix has been deferred because the flaw is rated moderate and exploitation requires a client to access a malicious or compromised SMB server, so the issue is not scheduled for an immediate update. The residual risk of the deferral is limited to disclosure of kernel stack memory through the userspace idmap daemon when such a server is accessed.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.5 | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | N/A |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Memory; Read Application Data
When reusing a resource such as memory or a program variable, the original contents of that resource may not be cleared before it is sent to an untrusted party.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
The uninitialized resource may contain values that cause program flow to change in ways that the programmer did not intend.
Frequently Asked Questions
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