Authenticated kernel compromise via session-user lifetime race
Published May 20, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Use-after-free in Linux ksmbd allows remote authenticated users to compromise the kernel through concurrent SMB logoff and session setup. smb2_session_logoff frees sess->user without waiting for another bound connection, while smb2_sess_setup and other handlers retain and dereference that object. An ordinary SMB account and SMB 3 multichannel session binding are required; successful exploitation reads or writes kernel memory or panics the host.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Linux ksmbd allows remote authenticated users to compromise the kernel through concurrent SMB logoff and session setup. smb2_session_logoff frees sess->user without waiting for another bound connection, while smb2_sess_setup and other handlers retain and dereference that object. An ordinary SMB account and SMB 3 multichannel session binding are required; successful exploitation reads or writes kernel memory or panics the host.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-37899
- Published
- May 20, 2025
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1190
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 20, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 5, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0626e6641f6b467447c81dd7678a69c66f7746cf <02d16046cd11a5c037b28c12ffb818c56dd3ef43
- Affected versionversion=0626e6641f6b467447c81dd7678a69c66f7746cf <2fc9feff45d92a92cd5f96487655d5be23fb7e2b
- Affected versionversion=0626e6641f6b467447c81dd7678a69c66f7746cf <70ad6455139e26e85f48f95d0e21f351c1909342
- Affected versionversion=0626e6641f6b467447c81dd7678a69c66f7746cf <931dc8a3670f71c45c0b1379ea4e92dafbda1aca
- Affected versionversion=0626e6641f6b467447c81dd7678a69c66f7746cf <d5ec1d79509b3ee01de02c236f096bc050221b7f
- Affected versionversion=5.15
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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