VulnerabilityPublished 24 Apr 2026Updated 17 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-31612: Linux kernel · ksmbd: validate EaNameLength in smb2_get_ea()

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High · fixed in 6.8.0-1061.64~22.04.1 : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 36% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 6.8.0-1061.64~22.04.1, 6.8.0-1063.71~22.04.1, 6.8.0-1062.69~22.04.1 +39

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 24 Apr 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: 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 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-27.27	Fixed in 7.0.0-27.27
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-aws`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-1008.8	Fixed in 7.0.0-1008.8
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-1010.10	Fixed in 7.0.0-1010.10
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure-fde`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-1009.9	Fixed in 7.0.0-1009.9
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gcp`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-1007.7	Fixed in 7.0.0-1007.7
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-ibm`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-ibm?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-1009.9	Fixed in 7.0.0-1009.9

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

A patch addressing this vulnerability is available and included in Linux kernel versions 6.8.0-1061.64~22.04.1 and later. Users should update their Linux kernel to the fixed versions as provided by their distribution vendor, such as the Ubuntu security notices USN-8488-1 and USN-8488-2. After updating, a system reboot is required to apply the kernel changes. Due to ABI changes, recompilation and reinstallation of third-party kernel modules may be necessary. No additional mitigations are indicated by the vendor advisory.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: validate EaNameLength in smb2_get_ea() smb2_get_ea() reads ea_req->EaNameLength from the client request and passes it directly to strncmp() as the comparison length without verifying that the length of the name really is the size of the input buffer received. Fix this up by properly checking the size of the name based on the value received and the overall size of the request, to prevent a later strncmp() call to use the length as a "trusted" size of the buffer. Without this check, uninitialized heap values might be slowly leaked to the client.

Impact

An unauthenticated remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to leak uninitialized heap memory contents from the kernel to the client. This results in a confidentiality breach, potentially exposing sensitive information. There is no impact on integrity or availability. No known exploits in the wild have been reported at this time.

Summary

The Linux kernel's ksmbd subsystem had a vulnerability where smb2_get_ea() read the EaNameLength field from a client request and used it directly as the length parameter in a strncmp() comparison without validating that the length corresponded to the actual buffer size. This lack of validation allowed potential leakage of uninitialized heap memory to the client. The issue was fixed by adding proper checks to ensure the EaNameLength does not exceed the bounds of the input buffer before performing the comparison. The vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-31612 and affects Linux kernel versions prior to 6.8.0-1061.64~22.04.1 and similar versions listed. The CVSS v3.1 score is 7.5 (High confidentiality impact, no integrity or availability impact). The vendor advisory from Ubuntu confirms that a patch is available and recommends updating to fixed kernel versions.

GCVE source: db.gcve.eu
OSV ID: UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31612
Osv Schema Version: 1.7.0
Ecosystems: Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS, Ubuntu:16.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS:16.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS, Ubuntu:18.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:18.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS:18.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS, Ubuntu:20.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:20.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS:20.04:LTS, Ubuntu:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Nvidia-BlueField:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-preview:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:Realtime:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:24.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Nvidia-BlueField:24.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:24.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:Realtime:24.04:LTS, Ubuntu:25.10, Ubuntu:26.04:LTS
CVSS version: 3.1

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 1 Aug 2026, 05:15 UTC

Technical details

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