Listener Task Lifetime Issue in Linux Kernel - ksmbd by Linux Foundation

CVE-2026-98112

What is CVE-2026-98112?

A vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's ksmbd component where the listener thread's lifecycle is improperly managed during netdevice events. The socket is shut down prior to stopping the listener thread, which can lead to a race condition. This oversight allows the task structure to be freed before the cleanup process is complete. To mitigate this issue, the listener should be initialized in a stopped state, holding an additional reference until it has been safely stopped. Additionally, it is crucial to stop and release listeners prior to the deallocation of their associated interface records during TCP teardown, ensuring better resource management.

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