What is CVE-2026-98261?

CVE-2026-98261 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 8.1 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 6.6.15 onward and patched in 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54 and others. CVE-2026-98261 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-98261?

CVE-2026-98261 has a CVSS score of 8.1 out of 10, rated High severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-98261?

Yes, CVE-2026-98261 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 6.6.15 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-98261 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-98261 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2026-98261

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cifs: Fix server use-after-free in cifs_chan_skip_or_disable() When a secondary channel is no longer supported by the server, cifs_chan_skip_or_disable() drops the channel reference with cifs_put_tcp_session() and then continues to use the server pointer by calling cifs_signal_cifsd_for_reconnect() on it and reading its primary_server pointer. cifs_put_tcp_session() can drop the last reference of the channel and tear it down, so both the channel and the primary server (whose reference is also dropped by cifs_put_tcp_session()) can be freed before they are signaled for reconnect. Signal the channel and the primary server and capture the primary server pointer before dropping the channel reference with cifs_put_tcp_session().

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-10-06

Last modified 2026-10-07

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

8.1

out of 10

High

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

High

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Vector string

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.6.15, 6.7.3, 6.8 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54, 7.2.8, 7.3-rc4 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 6.6.15 ≥ 6.7.3 ≥ 6.8

Fixed in

✓ 6.6.158 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.112 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.54 6.18.x ✓ 7.2.8 7.2.x ✓ 7.3-rc4

References

5 total

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-98261

Severity High

CVSS score 8.1 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-10-06

Modified 2026-10-07

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-98261?

CVE-2026-98261 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 8.1 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.6.15 onward and has been patched in 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54 and others. CVE-2026-98261 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-98261?

CVE-2026-98261 has a CVSS score of 8.1 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-98261?

Yes. CVE-2026-98261 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 6.6.15 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-98261 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2026-98261 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.