CVE-2026-31610: ksmbd: fix mechToken leak when SPNEGO decode fails after token alloc

Published Apr 24, 2026
·
Updated

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

ksmbd: fix mechToken leak when SPNEGO decode fails after token alloc

The kernel ASN.1 BER decoder calls action callbacks incrementally as it walks the input. When ksmbddecodenegTokenInit() reaches the mechToken [2] OCTET STRING element, ksmbdnegtokenalloc() allocates conn->mechToken immediately via kmemdupnul(). If a later element in the same blob is malformed, then the decoder will return nonzero after the allocation is already live. This could happen if mechListMIC [3] overrunse the enclosing SEQUENCE.

decodenegotiationtoken() then sets conn->usespnego = false because both the negTokenInit and negTokenTarg grammars failed. The cleanup at the bottom of smb2sesssetup() is gated on usespnego:

if (conn->usespnego && conn->mechToken) { kfree(conn->mechToken); conn->mechToken = NULL; }

so the kfree is skipped, causing the mechToken to never be freed.

This codepath is reachable pre-authentication, so untrusted clients can cause slow memory leaks on a server without even being properly authenticated.

Fix this up by not checking check for usespnego, as it's not required, so the memory will always be properly freed. At the same time, always free the memory in ksmbdconnfree() incase some other failure path forgot to free it.

Affected Software

7 affected componentsFixes available
Linux kernel ksmbd
Microsoft azl3 kernel 6.6.134.1-2
Linux Linux kernel>=5.15<6.6.136
Linux Linux kernel>=6.7<6.12.83
Linux Linux kernel>=6.13<6.18.24
Linux Linux kernel>=6.19<6.19.14
Linux Linux kernel>=7.0<7.0.1

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Configuration

    In ksmbd_decode_negTokenInit() after decode_negotiation_token() sets conn->use_spnego = false when SPNEGO decode fails, ensure the error handling path frees conn->mechToken.

    Linux kernel ksmbd (SMB server) conn->use_spnego = false
  2. Configuration

    Update ksmbd_conn_free() to free conn->mechToken unconditionally on failure paths (not only under the condition if (conn->use_spnego && conn->mechToken)), to prevent the mechToken leak when SPNEGO decode fails after ksmbd_neg_token_alloc().

    Linux kernel ksmbd_conn_free() mechToken cleanup = kfree(conn->mechToken) when conn->mechToken exists

Event History

Apr 24, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·02:42 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·02:42 PM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·03:16 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Apr 26, 2026
Data Sourced
via Microsoft·08:04 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Updated
via Microsoft·08:04 AM
DescriptionSeverity
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2026-31610?

CVE-2026-31610 has a medium severity rating of 5.5 on the CVSS scale.

2

How do I fix CVE-2026-31610?

To fix CVE-2026-31610, apply the available patch provided by the kernel maintainers.

3

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2026-31610?

CVE-2026-31610 is a memory leak vulnerability related to the ksmbd component in the Linux kernel.

4

Which software versions are affected by CVE-2026-31610?

CVE-2026-31610 affects the Linux kernel and specifically the ksmbd implementation.

5

When was CVE-2026-31610 published?

CVE-2026-31610 was published on April 24, 2026.

Contact

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CVE-2026-31610 - ksmbd: fix mechToken leak when SPNEGO decode fails after token alloc - SecAlerts