Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-31433

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.15.203 / 6.1.168 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: fix potencial OOB in get_file_all_info() for compound requests When a compound request consists of QUERY_DIRECTORY + QUERY_INFO (FILE_ALL_INFORMATION) and the first command consumes nearly the entire max_trans_size, get_file_all_info() would blindly call smbConvertToUTF16() with PATH_MAX, causing out-of-bounds write beyond the response buffer. In get_file_all_info(), there was a missing validation check for the client-provided OutputBufferLength before copying the filename into FileName field of the smb2_file_all_info structure. If the filename length exceeds the available buffer space, it could lead to potential buffer overflows or memory corruption during smbConvertToUTF16 conversion. This calculating the actual free buffer size using smb2_calc_max_out_buf_len() and returning -EINVAL if the buffer is insufficient and updating smbConvertToUTF16 to use the actual filename length (clamped by PATH_MAX) to ensure a safe copy operation.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-125

The code reads past the end (or before the start) of a buffer, returning memory that was never meant to be exposed. Attackers use it to leak secrets like keys or to defeat memory-protection defences. Remediation is validating indices and lengths before every read.

General guidance for the out-of-bounds read class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 5.15.145, < 5.15.203>= 6.1.71, < 6.1.168>= 6.6, < 6.6.131>= 6.7, < 6.12.80>= 6.13, < 6.18.21>= 6.19, < 6.19.11= 7.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.15.203 / 6.1.168 / 6.6.131 or later
Fixed in 5.15.2036.1.1686.6.131
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 5.15.203, 6.1.168, 6.6.131, or 6.12.80+ (depending on your branch)

  1. Identify your current kernel version using `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version`
  2. For enterprise distributions, obtain the patched kernel from your distribution vendor's security repository
  3. Alternatively, for upstream kernels, apply the fix commit 358cdaa1f7fbf2712cb4c5f6b59cb9a5c673c5fe by either: cloning https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git and cherry-picking the commit, or manually applying the patch diff to the ksmbd/buffer.c source file
  4. The fix adds validation using `smb2_calc_max_out_buf_len()` to check available buffer space before copying filenames, returns -EINVAL if buffer is insufficient, and clamps filename length in `smbConvertToUTF16()` to prevent overflow
  5. Rebuild and install the kernel, then reboot into the patched kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuild of out-of-tree modules; ensure ksmbd (kernel SMB daemon) is rebuilt against the new kernel headers

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $3,200. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-31433 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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