Vulnerability in Linux

CVE-2026-23205

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb/client: fix memory leak in smb2_open_file() Reproducer: 1. server: directories are exported read-only 2. client: mount -t cifs //${server_ip}/export /mnt 3. client: dd if=/dev/zero of=/mnt/file bs=512 count=1000 oflag=direct 4. client: umount /mnt 5. client: sleep 1 6. client: modprobe -r cifs The error message is as follows: ============================================================================= BUG cifs_small_rq (Not tainted): Objects remaining on __kmem_cache_shutdown() ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Object 0x00000000d47521be @offset=14336 ... WARNING: mm/slub.c:1251 at __kmem_cache_shutdown+0x34e/0x440, CPU#0: modprobe/1577 ... Call Trace: <TASK> kmem_cache_destroy+0x94/0x190 cifs_destroy_request_bufs+0x3e/0x50 [cifs] cleanup_module+0x4e/0x540 [cifs] __se_sys_delete_module+0x278/0x400 __x64_sys_delete_module+0x5f/0x70 x64_sys_call+0x2299/0x2ff0 do_syscall_64+0x89/0x350 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e ... kmem_cache_destroy cifs_small_rq: Slab cache still has objects when called from cifs_destroy_request_bufs+0x3e/0x50 [cifs] WARNING: mm/slab_common.c:532 at kmem_cache_destroy+0x16b/0x190, CPU#0: modprobe/1577

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.001 (1.5th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 2nd percentile — 1.5% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-23205: held from 0.001 to 0.001.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.001 · newest: 0.001 · change: +0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-23205?
CVE-2026-23205 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2026-02-14.
How severe is CVE-2026-23205?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.