CVE-2026-98451
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: use finish_no_open() for non-regular inodes An O_CREAT open can find an existing symlink or another non-regular inode. cifs_atomic_open() calls finish_open() on it and attaches a cifsFileInfo. Symlink inodes have no CIFS release operation, so the dentry reference held by cifsFileInfo is leaked. FMODE_OPENED also prevents the VFS from following the symlink. Track whether cifs_do_create() returned an open server handle. For non-regular inodes, close the handle if present, remove the pending open, and call finish_no_open() so the VFS can continue the lookup. Do not set FMODE_CREATED unless a regular file was opened. For O_NOFOLLOW with __O_REGULAR, return -ELOOP before the VFS's -EFTYPE check. Defer closing a legacy POSIX handle on a non-regular inode until after inode lookup. This avoids closing it again if lookup fails.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
3.6
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.12.113,
6.18.56,
7.2.9,
7.3
and their respective stable series.
References
4 totalFrequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-98451?
CVE-2026-98451 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 3.6 onward and has been patched in 6.12.113, 6.18.56, 7.2.9 and others. CVE-2026-98451 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-98451?
Yes. CVE-2026-98451 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.113, 6.18.56, 7.2.9 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 3.6 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-98451 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-98451 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.