CVE-2025-38431: Linux kernel · smb: client: fix regression with native SMB symlinks
Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited : upgrade to ff8abbd248c1f52df0c321690b88454b13ff54b2 or 6ddaf7567080c7de2e0c99efca2ee1e6b79beea5 when convenient.
Data as of 5 Nov 2026, 21:20 UTC
Rated Low by Threat Radar's AI analysis · No CVSS score from NVD or the CNA
Thin evidence
One scorer or none- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation
- No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
- Automatable
- Attackers cannot reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
- Technical impact
- Limited control over the software or limited information exposure
CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-11-05.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in ff8abbd248c1f52df0c321690b88454b13ff54b2, 6ddaf7567080c7de2e0c99efca2ee1e6b79beea5
Exploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 25 Jul 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 5 Nov 2026.
What to do
Upgrade Linux kernel to ff8abbd248c1f52df0c321690b88454b13ff54b2 or 6ddaf7567080c7de2e0c99efca2ee1e6b79beea5.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
A fix has been applied in the Linux kernel to restore correct handling of native SMB symlinks. Users should update to the fixed kernel versions identified by the commits ff8abbd248c1f52df0c321690b88454b13ff54b2 and 6ddaf7567080c7de2e0c99efca2ee1e6b79beea5 or to Linux kernel version 6.14 where the issue is resolved.
Description
A regression in the Linux kernel's SMB client handling of native SMB symlinks caused backup and copy tools to fail when encountering symlink targets that the client could not parse, even if the symlinks were not followed. This issue has been fixed by restoring the previous behavior that allows lstat(2) and readlink(2) system calls to succeed despite unresolved symlink targets.