CVE-2026-98449
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's SMB (Server Message Block) client. This issue may allow a remote attacker or malicious server to trigger a Denial of Service (DoS) by inducing network transmission failures during compound request processing. Because the client releases its connection lock without first clearing pending requests from the queue upon a send failure, a subsequent reconnection attempt improperly accounts for tracking credits twice. This error leads to internal state corruption, kernel warnings, and potential system instability.
Statement
This vulnerability is rated as having a Moderate impact for Red Hat Enterprise Linux because exploitation requires a client system to establish an SMB connection to an external or untrusted server where transmission errors can occur. In standard Red Hat deployments, CIFS/SMB client functionality is not enabled or mounted by default, limiting exposure to systems configured to mount remote file shares. Triggering this condition results in kernel credit accounting errors and denial of service, but does not allow privilege escalation or unauthorized data exposure.
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 | 6.5 | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | N/A |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | N/A |
| User Interaction | Required | 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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Other,Confidentiality,Integrity
Technical Impact: Other; Read Application Data; Modify Application Data; DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)
It is possible to overflow the number of temporary files because directories typically have limits on the number of files allowed. This could create a denial of service problem.
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