CVE-2026-23228 | smb: server: fix leak of active_num_conn in ksmbd_tcp_new_connection()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: server: fix leak of active_num_conn in ksmbd_tcp_new_connection() On kthread_run() failure in ksmbd_tcp_new_connection(), the transport is freed via free_transport(), which does not decrement active_num_conn, leaking this counter. Replace free_transport() with ksmbd_tcp_disconnect().

Published: 2026-02-18 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-23228 is rated Low Risk (22.8/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.12%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-23228

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.02% 0.12% +0.10%
2 2026-02-19 0.02%

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-23228

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-23228

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-23228

GHSA-j6h2-wr53-6vcg · Severity: medium — In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: server: fix leak of...

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-23228

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2026-23228 unimportant priority: Debian including 2 source packages (linux, linux-6.1), 6 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 6. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-23228
redhat https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-23228
suse medium CVE-2026-23228 severity moderate: SUSE including 30 source package names (cluster-md-kmp-default, dlm-kmp-default, …), 230 product×package rows across 41 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7, SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS, … (41 product lines)): Known Not Affected 226, Fixed 4. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-23228/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-23228 medium priority: Ubuntu including 157 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1256 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 871, ignored 169, needed 87, released 83, not-affected 46. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-23228

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-23228

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 5.15.91, < 5.15.201 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.1.9, < 6.1.164 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2.1, < 6.6.125 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.72 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.18.11 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 6.19.1 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.2 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.2 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.2 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.2 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-23228

cvelogic Threat Intelligence