CVE-2026-23303

Credential disclosure via plaintext CIFS debug logging

Published Mar 25, 2026 · Updated Mar 25, 2026

Credential disclosure in the Linux Kernel SMB client allows local users to read plaintext usernames and passwords from debug logs. The cifs_set_cifscreds() function writes the complete credential-key payload, including the username and password, to a debug message without redaction. Exposure requires debug logging to be enabled and SMB credentials to be set, after which anyone permitted to read the resulting kernel logs can recover them.

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

Credential disclosure in the Linux Kernel SMB client allows local users to read plaintext usernames and passwords from debug logs. The cifs_set_cifscreds() function writes the complete credential-key payload, including the username and password, to a debug message without redaction. Exposure requires debug logging to be enabled and SMB credentials to be set, after which anyone permitted to read the resulting kernel logs can recover them.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-23303
Published
Mar 25, 2026
Updated
Mar 25, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
T1552.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 25, 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=3.3
  2. Affected versionversion=8a8798a5ff90977d6459ce1d657cf8fe13a51e97 <2ef0fc3bf49db2b9df36d5f44508c9e384bfa2a1
  3. Affected versionversion=8a8798a5ff90977d6459ce1d657cf8fe13a51e97 <2f37dc436d4e61ff7ae0b0353cf91b8c10396e4d
  4. Affected versionversion=8a8798a5ff90977d6459ce1d657cf8fe13a51e97 <3990f352bb0adc8688d0949a9c13e3110570eb61
  5. Affected versionversion=8a8798a5ff90977d6459ce1d657cf8fe13a51e97 <3e182701db612ddd794ccd5ed822e6cc1db2b972
  6. Affected versionversion=8a8798a5ff90977d6459ce1d657cf8fe13a51e97 <b746a357abfb8fdb0a171d51ec5091e786d34be1
  7. Affected versionversion=8a8798a5ff90977d6459ce1d657cf8fe13a51e97 <ff0ece8ed04180c52167c003362284b23cf54e8d

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=3.3; version=8a8798a5ff90977d6459ce1d657cf8fe13a51e97 <2ef0fc3bf49db2b9df36d5f44508c9e384bfa2a1; version=8a8798a5ff90977d6459ce1d657cf8fe13a51e97 <2f37dc436d4e61ff7ae0b0353cf91b8c10396e4d; version=8a8798a5ff90977d6459ce1d657cf8fe13a51e97 <3990f352bb0adc8688d0949a9c13e3110570eb61; version=8a8798a5ff90977d6459ce1d657cf8fe13a51e97 <3e182701db612ddd794ccd5ed822e6cc1db2b972; version=8a8798a5ff90977d6459ce1d657cf8fe13a51e97 <b746a357abfb8fdb0a171d51ec5091e786d34be1; version=8a8798a5ff90977d6459ce1d657cf8fe13a51e97 <ff0ece8ed04180c52167c003362284b23cf54e8d

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

T1552.001Credentials In Files

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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