CVE-2026-31706

Full vulnerability record from the local CVENow database.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: validate num_aces and harden ACE walk in smb_inherit_dacl() smb_inherit_dacl() trusts the on-disk num_aces value from the parent directory's DACL xattr and uses it to size a heap allocation: aces_base = kmalloc(sizeof(struct smb_ace) * num_aces * 2, ...); num_aces is a u16 read from le16_to_cpu(parent_pdacl->num_aces) without checking that it is consistent with the declared pdacl_size. An authenticated client whose parent directory's security.NTACL is tampered (e.g. via offline xattr corruption or a concurrent path that bypasses parse_dacl()) can present num_aces = 65535 with minimal actual ACE data. This causes a ~8 MB allocation (not kzalloc, so uninitialized) that the subsequent loop only partially populates, and may also overflow the three-way size_t multiply on 32-bit kernels. Additionally, the ACE walk loop uses the weaker offsetof(struct smb_ace, access_req) minimum size check rather than the minimum valid on-wire ACE size, and does not reject ACEs whose declared size is below the minimum. Reproduced on UML + KASAN + LOCKDEP against the real ksmbd code path. A legitimate mount.cifs client creates a parent directory over SMB (ksmbd writes a valid security.NTACL xattr), then the NTACL blob on the backing filesystem is rewritten to set num_aces = 0xFFFF while keeping the posix_acl_hash bytes intact so ksmbd_vfs_get_sd_xattr()'s hash check still passes. A subsequent SMB2 CREATE of a child under that parent drives smb2_open() into smb_inherit_dacl() (share has "vfs objects = acl_xattr" set), which fails the page allocator: WARNING: mm/page_alloc.c:5226 at __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof+0x46c/0x9c0 Workqueue: ksmbd-io handle_ksmbd_work __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof+0x46c/0x9c0 ___kmalloc_large_node+0x68/0x130 __kmalloc_large_node_noprof+0x24/0x70 __kmalloc_noprof+0x4c9/0x690 smb_inherit_dacl+0x394/0x2430 smb2_open+0x595d/0xabe0 handle_ksmbd_work+0x3d3/0x1140 With the patch applied the added guard rejects the tampered value with -EINVAL before any large allocation runs, smb2_open() falls back to smb2_create_sd_buffer(), and the child is created with a default SD. No warning, no splat. Fix by: 1. Validating num_aces against pdacl_size using the same formula applied in parse_dacl(). 2. Replacing the raw kmalloc(sizeof * num_aces * 2) with kmalloc_array(num_aces * 2, sizeof(...)) for overflow-safe allocation. 3. Tightening the per-ACE loop guard to require the minimum valid ACE size (offsetof(smb_ace, sid) + CIFS_SID_BASE_SIZE) and rejecting under-sized ACEs, matching the hardening in smb_check_perm_dacl() and parse_dacl(). v1 -> v2: - Replace the synthetic test-module splat in the changelog with a real-path UML + KASAN reproduction driven through mount.cifs and SMB2 CREATE; Namjae flagged the kcifs3_test_inherit_dacl_old name in v1 since it does not exist in ksmbd. - Drop the commit-hash citation from the code comment per Namjae's review; keep the parse_dacl() pointer.

Severity

HIGH

CVSS score

8.8 (v3.1)

Vulnerability status

Modified

Source identifier

416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Published

2026-05-01 14:16:20.597000

Last modified

2026-10-30 13:18:42.640000

View original CVE JSON

{
  "id": "CVE-2026-31706",
  "sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
  "published": "2026-05-01T14:16:20.597",
  "lastModified": "2026-10-30T13:18:42.640",
  "vulnStatus": "Modified",
  "cveTags": [],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nksmbd: validate num_aces and harden ACE walk in smb_inherit_dacl()\n\nsmb_inherit_dacl() trusts the on-disk num_aces value from the parent\ndirectory's DACL xattr and uses it to size a heap allocation:\n\n  aces_base = kmalloc(sizeof(struct smb_ace) * num_aces * 2, ...);\n\nnum_aces is a u16 read from le16_to_cpu(parent_pdacl->num_aces)\nwithout checking that it is consistent with the declared pdacl_size.\nAn authenticated client whose parent directory's security.NTACL is\ntampered (e.g. via offline xattr corruption or a concurrent path that\nbypasses parse_dacl()) can present num_aces = 65535 with minimal\nactual ACE data.  This causes a ~8 MB allocation (not kzalloc, so\nuninitialized) that the subsequent loop only partially populates, and\nmay also overflow the three-way size_t multiply on 32-bit kernels.\n\nAdditionally, the ACE walk loop uses the weaker\noffsetof(struct smb_ace, access_req) minimum size check rather than\nthe minimum valid on-wire ACE size, and does not reject ACEs whose\ndeclared size is below the minimum.\n\nReproduced on UML + KASAN + LOCKDEP against the real ksmbd code path.\nA legitimate mount.cifs client creates a parent directory over SMB\n(ksmbd writes a valid security.NTACL xattr), then the NTACL blob on\nthe backing filesystem is rewritten to set num_aces = 0xFFFF while\nkeeping the posix_acl_hash bytes intact so ksmbd_vfs_get_sd_xattr()'s\nhash check still passes.  A subsequent SMB2 CREATE of a child under\nthat parent drives smb2_open() into smb_inherit_dacl() (share has\n\"vfs objects = acl_xattr\" set), which fails the page allocator:\n\n  WARNING: mm/page_alloc.c:5226 at __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof+0x46c/0x9c0\n  Workqueue: ksmbd-io handle_ksmbd_work\n   __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof+0x46c/0x9c0\n   ___kmalloc_large_node+0x68/0x130\n   __kmalloc_large_node_noprof+0x24/0x70\n   __kmalloc_noprof+0x4c9/0x690\n   smb_inherit_dacl+0x394/0x2430\n   smb2_open+0x595d/0xabe0\n   handle_ksmbd_work+0x3d3/0x1140\n\nWith the patch applied the added guard rejects the tampered value\nwith -EINVAL before any large allocation runs, smb2_open() falls back\nto smb2_create_sd_buffer(), and the child is created with a default\nSD.  No warning, no splat.\n\nFix by:\n\n  1. Validating num_aces against pdacl_size using the same formula\n     applied in parse_dacl().\n\n  2. Replacing the raw kmalloc(sizeof * num_aces * 2) with\n     kmalloc_array(num_aces * 2, sizeof(...)) for overflow-safe\n     allocation.\n\n  3. Tightening the per-ACE loop guard to require the minimum valid\n     ACE size (offsetof(smb_ace, sid) + CIFS_SID_BASE_SIZE) and\n     rejecting under-sized ACEs, matching the hardening in\n     smb_check_perm_dacl() and parse_dacl().\n\nv1 -> v2:\n  - Replace the synthetic test-module splat in the changelog with a\n    real-path UML + KASAN reproduction driven through mount.cifs and\n    SMB2 CREATE; Namjae flagged the kcifs3_test_inherit_dacl_old name\n    in v1 since it does not exist in ksmbd.\n  - Drop the commit-hash citation from the code comment per Namjae's\n    review; keep the parse_dacl() pointer."
    }
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              "status": "unaffected"
            },
            {
              "version": "6.18.25",
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              "versionType": "semver",
              "status": "unaffected"
            },
            {
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              "versionType": "semver",
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            },
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              "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
              "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix",
              "status": "unaffected"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
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        "type": "Secondary",
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          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
          "baseScore": 8.8,
          "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
          "attackVector": "NETWORK",
          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
          "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
          "availabilityImpact": "HIGH"
        },
        "exploitabilityScore": 2.8,
        "impactScore": 5.9
      }
    ]
  },
  "weaknesses": [
    {
      "source": "[email protected]",
      "type": "Primary",
      "description": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "NVD-CWE-noinfo"
        }
      ]
    }
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  "configurations": [
    {
      "nodes": [
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          "negate": false,
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