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CVE-2025-37778: ksmbd: Fix dangling pointer in krb_authenticate

• Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 1.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: none known
• Published: 2025-05-01 · updated 2026-10-15
• Weakness: CWE-416

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: Fix dangling pointer in krb_authenticate krb_authenticate frees sess->user and does not set the pointer to NULL. It calls ksmbd_krb5_authenticate to reinitialise sess->user but that function may return without doing so. If that happens then smb2_sess_setup, which calls krb_authenticate, will be accessing free'd memory when it later uses sess->user.

Affected products

• Debian Linux: 11.0
• Linux kernel: from 5.15 before 6.1.135; from 6.2 before 6.6.88; from 6.7 before 6.12.25; from 6.13 before 6.14.4; 6.15-rc1, 6.15-rc2 — fixed in 6.1.135, 6.12.25, 6.14.4, 6.6.88

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.1.135, 6.12.25, 6.14.4, 6.6.88. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1db2451de23e98bc864c6a6e52aa0d82c91cb325
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1e440d5b25b7efccb3defe542a73c51005799a5f
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6e30c0e10210c714f3d4453dc258d4abcc70364e
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b61f04d5d73c53d183019bafe22fb700a739bac5
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d5b554bc8d554ed6ddf443d3db2fad9f665cec10
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e83e39a5f6a01a81411a4558a59a10f87aa88dd6
• https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00045.html

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