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 ksmbd_decode_negTokenInit() reaches the mechToken
[2] OCTET STRING element, ksmbd_neg_token_alloc() allocates
conn->mechToken immediately via kmemdup_nul(). 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.
decode_negotiation_token() then sets conn->use_spnego = false because
both the negTokenInit and negTokenTarg grammars failed. The cleanup at
the bottom of smb2_sess_setup() is gated on use_spnego:
if (conn->use_spnego && 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 use_spnego, as it's not required,
so the memory will always be properly freed. At the same time, always
free the memory in ksmbd_conn_free() incase some other failure path
forgot to free it.
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 ksmbd_decode_negTokenInit() reaches the mechToken
[2] OCTET STRING element, ksmbd_neg_token_alloc() allocates
conn->mechToken immediately via kmemdup_nul(). 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.
decode_negotiation_token() then sets conn->use_spnego = false because
both the negTokenInit and negTokenTarg grammars failed. The cleanup at
the bottom of smb2_sess_setup() is gated on use_spnego:
if (conn->use_spnego && 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 use_spnego, as it's not required,
so the memory will always be properly freed. At the same time, always
free the memory in ksmbd_conn_free() incase some other failure path
forgot to free it.
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
|
|||||||||||||||
| Linux | Linux | affected |
|
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Advisories
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Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Fri, 24 Apr 2026 15:00:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | 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 ksmbd_decode_negTokenInit() reaches the mechToken [2] OCTET STRING element, ksmbd_neg_token_alloc() allocates conn->mechToken immediately via kmemdup_nul(). 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. decode_negotiation_token() then sets conn->use_spnego = false because both the negTokenInit and negTokenTarg grammars failed. The cleanup at the bottom of smb2_sess_setup() is gated on use_spnego: if (conn->use_spnego && 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 use_spnego, as it's not required, so the memory will always be properly freed. At the same time, always free the memory in ksmbd_conn_free() incase some other failure path forgot to free it. | |
| Title | ksmbd: fix mechToken leak when SPNEGO decode fails after token alloc | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
Projects
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MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-04-24T14:42:31.471Z
Reserved: 2026-03-09T15:48:24.122Z
Link: CVE-2026-31610
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-04-24T15:16:40.257
Modified: 2026-04-24T15:16:40.257
Link: CVE-2026-31610
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.