KEVWire

Security intelligence, with context.

Response snapshot Oct 27, 2026, 05:58 UTC

Back to the wire
Permalink
VulnerabilityCVE-2026-98451

Linux kernel: smb: client: use finish_no_open() for non-regular inodes

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.

At a glance

Exploited
Not known
Severity
8.8 High (CVSS 3.1)
Chance of exploitation
0.4% in the next 30 days
Sources
1 source

What to do

Check the vendor advisory for affected versions and fixes.

Read NVD CVE-2026-98451 (opens a new tab)

What happened

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.

Continue reading

Defer closing a legacy POSIX handle on a non-regular inode until after inode lookup. This avoids closing it again if lookup fails.

Scores and how they were measured

CVSS base severity

8.8

Version 3.1As of

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

Measurement source (opens a new tab)

How bad it is if exploited. Not a prediction of exploitation or proof you are exposed.

EPSS probability

0.4%

Scored Percentile 28.8%

Model and measurement source (opens a new tab)

A model's estimate of exploitation in the next 30 days, not certainty or your own risk.

Related technology

Sources

  1. Primary source

    NVD CVE-2026-98451 (opens a new tab)

    NVD record: description, CVSS (the CNA score is preferred), affected products, and publication date. Not evidence of exploitation.

    Published Checked

  2. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  3. Primary source

    FIRST measured EPSS score (opens a new tab)

    Measured EPSS probability and percentile for CVE-2026-98451, scored 2026-10-26. This is a model estimate, not proof of exposure.

    Published Checked

Cite this record

For factual claims, cite the primary sources above; cite KEVWire for its compilation, dates, and classifications.

APA

KEVWire. (2026, October 24). Linux kernel: smb: client: use finish_no_open() for non-regular inodes (CVE-2026-98451). https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-98451

MLA

"Linux kernel: smb: client: use finish_no_open() for non-regular inodes (CVE-2026-98451)." KEVWire, 24 Oct. 2026, kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-98451.

Chicago

KEVWire. "Linux kernel: smb: client: use finish_no_open() for non-regular inodes (CVE-2026-98451)." Last modified October 24, 2026. https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-98451.

Evidence summary (plain text)

Linux kernel: smb: client: use finish_no_open() for non-regular inodes (Oct 18, 2026).
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.
CVSS 8.8 (version 3.1; evidence as of Oct 24, 2026; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98451).
EPSS 0.4% for the following 30 days, scored Oct 26, 2026 (https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-98451&date=2026-10-26).
Sources:
NVD CVE-2026-98451: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98451
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?pubStartDate=2026-10-12T13:35:55.142Z&pubEndDate=2026-10-26T13:35:55.142Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=4500
FIRST measured EPSS score: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-98451&date=2026-10-26
Record ID: CVE-2026-98451.
Record origin: Ingested record.
AI evidence: Not assessed.
Known exploitation: Not assessed.
Zero-day status: Not assessed. KEV membership alone does not establish zero-day status.
About this data

This record was ingested from a data source. Retrieved: Oct 27, 2026, 01:40 UTC. Ingestion is not an independent editorial investigation.

NVD status: Received. Publication in the NVD is not evidence of exploitation.

A CISA KEV listing documents known exploitation, not necessarily a zero-day; absence from the catalog does not prove a vulnerability has never been exploited.

Technology tags indicate possible relevance, not verified exposure. Confirm the affected product, version, and configuration against your own inventory; KEVWire does not scan your systems.

A personal reading checklist on this device, not verified remediation.

Record JSON

Your account

Email alerts

Email alerts are not available yet. To follow your stack today, use its RSS feed, which honors your filters, or connect an AI agent through the API.

Suggest an improvement

Ideas, missing sources, corrections, and bugs are all welcome. No account needed. Suggestions are reviewed by a person before anything changes.

Record details

Record detail