Linux Kernel up to 6.18.50/7.2.3 SMB Client cifs_check_trans2 use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
9.5	$5k-$25k	0.00+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.50/7.2.3 and classified as very critical. The affected element is the function cifs_check_trans2 of the component SMB Client. Such manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is referenced as CVE-2026-89637. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. No exploit is available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.50/7.2.3 and classified as very critical. Affected by this issue is the function cifs_check_trans2 of the component SMB Client. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: fix UAF and buffer leak in cifs_check_trans2() for malformed secondary T2 When a valid primary TRANSACT2 response has been received (mid->resp_buf set, mid->multiRsp true) and a subsequent secondary response causes cifs_check_trans2() to return false -- either because the SMB header is invalid (malformed != 0) or because check2ndT2() rejects the PDU -- handle_mid() overwrites mid->resp_buf with the new buffer (leaking the primary buffer) and, because mid->multiRsp is set, skips the server->smallbuf/bigbuf NULL-out. When the user thread frees mid->resp_buf, server->smallbuf or server->bigbuf is left dangling; the demux thread reuses it for the next packet, resulting in a use-after-free. Combine both early-exit conditions and, when mid->multiRsp is already set, abort the pending transaction inline: set multiEnd, call dequeue_mid() with malformed=true, and return true so handle_mid() exits without touching mid->resp_buf or the server buffer pointers.

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-89637 since 09/11/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be launched remotely. No form of authentication is required for exploitation. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $5k-$25k (estimation calculated on 09/12/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.18.51, 7.2.4 or 7.3-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 9eed72e9534b10a6d9f8f5146feff3db53aebdba/5e6533a683f6a851158d9f33fb4ea8f4f25d7f84/730d0bb19507b9e19c2fe5343109ac618e2fbce5 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 6.18.40
• 6.18.41
• 6.18.42
• 6.18.43
• 6.18.44
• 6.18.45
• 6.18.46
• 6.18.47
• 6.18.48
• 6.18.49
• 6.18.50
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5

VulDB Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.18.51/7.2.4/7.3-rc1
Patch: 9eed72e9534b10a6d9f8f5146feff3db53aebdba/5e6533a683f6a851158d9f33fb4ea8f4f25d7f84/730d0bb19507b9e19c2fe5343109ac618e2fbce5

Timelineinfo

09/11/2026 CVE reserved
09/12/2026 +1 days Advisory disclosed
09/12/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/12/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-89637 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-89637
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-402980

Entryinfo

Created: 09/12/2026 02:23
Changes: 09/12/2026 02:23 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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