CVE-2026-23228

Service interruption via leaked SMB connection counter

Published Feb 18, 2026 · Updated Feb 18, 2026

Resource leakage in the Linux Kernel ksmbd SMB server allows local users to interrupt service by exhausting connection capacity. In ksmbd_tcp_new_connection(), a kthread_run() failure calls free_transport(), which frees the transport without decrementing active_num_conn. Reachability requires local low-privileged access and a thread-creation failure; each affected failure leaves connection accounting inflated and degrades ksmbd availability.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.12%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Resource leakage in the Linux Kernel ksmbd SMB server allows local users to interrupt service by exhausting connection capacity. In ksmbd_tcp_new_connection(), a kthread_run() failure calls free_transport(), which frees the transport without decrementing active_num_conn. Reachability requires local low-privileged access and a thread-creation failure; each affected failure leaves connection accounting inflated and degrades ksmbd availability.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-23228
Published
Feb 18, 2026
Updated
Feb 18, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 18, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <599271110c35f6b16e2e4e45b9fbd47ed378c982
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <787769c8cc50416af7b8b1a36e6bcd6aaa7680aa
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <baf664fc90a6139a39a58333e4aaa390c10d45dc
  4. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <cd25e0d809531a67e9dd53b19012d27d2b13425f

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <599271110c35f6b16e2e4e45b9fbd47ed378c982; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <787769c8cc50416af7b8b1a36e6bcd6aaa7680aa; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <baf664fc90a6139a39a58333e4aaa390c10d45dc; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <cd25e0d809531a67e9dd53b19012d27d2b13425f

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

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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