UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98125: Medium severity ubuntu/linux-hwe-edge vulnerability
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb/client: fix stale page cache in insert/collapse range smb3insertrange() and smb3collapserange() use truncatepagecacherange() to invalidate the affected page cache. However, if off or oldeof is not page-aligned, the boundary pages are only partially zeroed and remain uptodate. As a result, the client may return stale data after a successful insert/collapse range operation. For example, with 4K pages: page 0 page 1 page 2 0------4K 4K------8K 8K------12K ^ ^ off=2K oldeof=10K Page 1 is removed from the page cache, while the boundary pages are only partially zeroed. After COPYCHUNK moves the data on the server, these cached pages may still return stale data. This can be reproduced on a CIFS mount: bash -c ' FILE=/mnt/scratch/repro # Use a 6 KiB file so EOF is not page-aligned. dd if=/dev/urandom of=/tmp/src bs=1K count=6 status=none # Expected: a 4 KiB hole followed by the original data. rm -f /tmp/expected truncate -s 4K /tmp/expected cat /tmp/src >> /tmp/expected cp /tmp/src "$FILE" # Prime the page cache before moving data on the server. cat "$FILE" > /dev/null fallocate --insert-range -o 0 -l 4K "$FILE" if cmp -s /tmp/expected "$FILE"; then echo "readback: OK" else echo "readback: STALE DATA" fi ' Fix this by writing back dirty data and discarding the page cache from the start of the page containing off to EOF before moving data on the server.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
ubuntu/linux-hwe-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-42.42~24.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-riscv-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-42.42.1~24.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linuxto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-42.42 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-awsto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1016.17 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-gcpto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1016.18 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-ibmto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1017.17 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-oem-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1017.17 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-oracleto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1015.16 - Upgrade
Upgrade
ubuntu/linux-riscvto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-42.42.1 - Compensating control
Before moving data on the server for smb3_insert_range() and smb3_collapse_range(), write back dirty data and discard the page cache from the start of the page containing off through EOF; use truncate_pagecache_range() to invalidate the affected page cache.
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
Which systems are exposed to this issue?
Systems using the listed Ubuntu kernel packages are affected when they access files through an SMB/CIFS client mount and perform SMB3 insert-range or collapse-range operations. The stale-data condition specifically depends on affected byte ranges having non-page-aligned boundaries.
What must happen for stale data to be returned?
A local user or process needs access to a CIFS-mounted file and must perform a successful SMB3 insert-range or collapse-range operation after the relevant file data has been cached. When the operation offset or the prior EOF is not page-aligned, boundary cache pages can remain marked uptodate and return pre-operation content.
Is this a remote code execution or server-side data modification issue?
No. The provided impact is stale data returned by the SMB client page cache after a successful range operation; the vector is local and requires low privileges. The description does not indicate code execution, availability impact, or an unintended server-side modification.
How can I check whether a system exhibits the issue?
On a CIFS mount, create a file whose EOF is not page-aligned, read it to prime the page cache, then use fallocate with --insert-range or --collapse-range and compare subsequent reads with the expected post-operation content. A mismatch indicating old cached bytes at boundary pages demonstrates the condition.