Linux Kernel up to 6.6.116/6.12.57/6.17.7 smb2_close_cached_fid use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.116/6.12.57/6.17.7. It has been rated as critical. This impacts the function smb2_close_cached_fid. This manipulation causes use after free. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2025-40328. No exploit is available. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.116/6.12.57/6.17.7. It has been declared as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function smb2_close_cached_fid. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: fix potential UAF in smb2_close_cached_fid() find_or_create_cached_dir() could grab a new reference after kref_put() had seen the refcount drop to zero but before cfid_list_lock is acquired in smb2_close_cached_fid(), leading to use-after-free. Switch to kref_put_lock() so cfid_release() is called with cfid_list_lock held, closing that gap.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2025-40328 since 04/16/2025. The exploitation appears to be easy. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 03/30/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 296680 (SUSE SLES15 / openSUSE 15 Security Update : kernel (SUSE-SU-2026:0293-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.6.117, 6.12.58 or 6.17.8 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch cb52d9c86d70298de0ab7c7953653898cbc0efd6/065bd62412271a2d734810dd50336cae88c54427/bdb596ceb4b7c3f28786a33840263728217fbcf5/734e99623c5b65bf2c03e35978a0b980ebc3c2f8 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (296680) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2765). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• RESF Rocky Linux

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.6.116
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.12.34
• 6.12.35
• 6.12.36
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.12.39
• 6.12.40
• 6.12.41
• 6.12.42
• 6.12.43
• 6.12.44
• 6.12.45
• 6.12.46
• 6.12.47
• 6.12.48
• 6.12.49
• 6.12.50
• 6.12.51
• 6.12.52
• 6.12.53
• 6.12.54
• 6.12.55
• 6.12.56
• 6.12.57
• 6.17.0
• 6.17.1
• 6.17.2
• 6.17.3
• 6.17.4
• 6.17.5
• 6.17.6
• 6.17.7

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Discussion