Linux Kernel: Use-After-Free (CVE-2026-98870)
Published Last modified Sources: CVE.org, BSI
What is affected, what to do
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: remove stale channels from all sessions on teardown ksmbd_sessions_deregister() removes a connection's channels from other sessions' channel lists only while conn->binding is still set: if (conn->binding) { hash_for_each_safe(sessions_table, ...) ksmbd_chann_del(conn, sess); } conn->binding is a transient flag: it is cleared once a binding SESSION_SETUP completes, and also by a subsequent non-binding SESSION_SETUP on the same connection (a reauthentication on a bound channel, or a new SessionId==0 setup). A connection that has bound a channel into another session's ksmbd_chann_list and then clears conn->binding leaves that channel behind when it disconnects: the channel, whose chann->conn points at the now freed struct ksmbd_conn, stays on the owner session's list.
Update Linux Kernel to version 5.16.
- Affected
- Linux Kernel
lt 5.15.222..5.16
- Linux Kernel
- Fixed in
- Linux Kernel
5.16
- Linux Kernel
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Metrics
8.8
Priority
XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.
Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3
8.8
CVSS v3
Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.
Source: CVE.org, BSI
0.5 %
EPSS score
Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 45.6
Show all metrics
- Severity
- High
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 90.63 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
XIEM Effective CVSS
XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.
Read in glossary- 8.8 Methodology
CVSS v3
CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.
Read in glossary- 8.8
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 0.5 %
- Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 45.6
- High — this CVE ranks above the median of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 36%).
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: remove stale channels from all sessions on teardown ksmbd_sessions_deregister() removes a connection's channels from other sessions' channel lists only while conn->binding is still set: if (conn->binding) { hash_for_each_safe(sessions_table, ...) ksmbd_chann_del(conn, sess); } conn->binding is a transient flag: it is cleared once a binding SESSION_SETUP completes, and also by a subsequent non-binding SESSION_SETUP on the same connection (a reauthentication on a bound channel, or a new SessionId==0 setup). A connection that has bound a channel into another session's ksmbd_chann_list and then clears conn->binding leaves that channel behind when it disconnects: the channel, whose chann->conn points at the now freed struct ksmbd_conn, stays on the owner session's list. When the owning connection later tears down, the second loop dereferences the stale channel: xa_for_each(&sess->ksmbd_chann_list, chann_id, chann) if (chann->conn != conn) ksmbd_conn_set_exiting(chann->conn); /* freed */ which is a use-after-free write into the freed ksmbd_conn (the same stale channel is also walked by show_proc_session() through /proc). The session is leaked as well, because its channel list never empties. Remove the conn->binding gate so a connection always removes its channels from every session on teardown.
Source: cvelistv5, NVD (NIST), BSI CSAF, BSI WID Portal
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Affected versions | Fixed in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux |
|
|
Vendors and products
References & sources
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/9cd6d714d3ca0cff296542dc989696884e41970f
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/a15cae16f4432a5ad919ee633e31b07178492955
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/b10665730fbf6b5e45fe422badcbbc3f0df96ef5
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/b145f9b56c87f9c23ad5464ab0844dbc1de12b36
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/f8200bb4994e65a2e5c5b314789eeae39078619d
Changes to this CVE
Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).
Record modifiedLinux
CVSS V3.1: AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Show the original change
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After CVSS added —AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSource identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
ReceivedLinux
Description added or changed
New references:- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9cd6d714d3ca0cff296542dc989696884e41970f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a15cae16f4432a5ad919ee633e31b07178492955
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b10665730fbf6b5e45fe422badcbbc3f0df96ef5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b145f9b56c87f9c23ad5464ab0844dbc1de12b36
and 1 more reference
Show 7 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Description added —In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: remove stale channels from all sessions on teardown ksmbd_sessions_deregister() removes a connection's channels from other sessions' channel lists only while conn->binding is still set: if (conn->binding) { hash_for_each_safe(sessions_table, ...) ksmbd_chann_del(conn, sess); } conn->binding is a transient flag: it is cleared once a binding SESSION_SETUP completes, and also by a subsequent non-binding SESSION_SETUP on the same connection (a reauthentication on a bound channel, or a new SessionId==0 setup). A connection that has bound a channel into another session's ksmbd_chann_list and then clears conn->binding leaves that channel behind when it disconnects: the channel, whose chann->conn points at the now freed struct ksmbd_conn, stays on the owner session's list. When the owning connection later tears down, the second loop dereferences the stale channel: xa_for_each(&sess->ksmbd_chann_list, chann_id, chann) if (chann->conn != conn) ksmbd_conn_set_exiting(chann->conn); /* freed */ which is a use-after-free write into the freed ksmbd_conn (the same stale channel is also walked by show_proc_session() through /proc). The session is leaked as well, because its channel list never empties. Remove the conn->binding gate so a connection always removes its channels from every session on teardown.Affected versions (publisher) added —New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98870.json">CVE-2026-98870</a>Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9cd6d714d3ca0cff296542dc989696884e41970fReference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a15cae16f4432a5ad919ee633e31b07178492955Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b10665730fbf6b5e45fe422badcbbc3f0df96ef5Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b145f9b56c87f9c23ad5464ab0844dbc1de12b36Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f8200bb4994e65a2e5c5b314789eeae39078619dSource identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
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<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2026-98870"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2026-98870.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2026-98870 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>