---
id: "CVE-2026-98453"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-98453"]
title: "Linux kernel SMB client leaks server handle when create-context parsing fails"
severity: "unknown"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "runtime"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["cifs", "linux-kernel", "runtime", "smb-client"]
not_affected_if: ["no-smb-mounts"]
published_at: "2026-10-18T16:16:55+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T05:27:22+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98453", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel SMB client leaks server handle when create-context parsing fails

When the Linux kernel's SMB2 client receives a malformed create-context block in a CREATE response, it returns an error without closing the remote handle it already opened. The server-side handle is left open and the client's open count stays inflated.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

- unknown

## Fix

- Update the Linux kernel to a release that includes the commit closing the handle after create-context parsing failure; the exact fixed version is unknown from the sources.

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98453

## From the sources

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

smb: client: close handle after create-context parsing failure

SMB2_open() accounts a successful CREATE response as a remote open before
parsing its create contexts.  If smb2_parse_contexts() rejects malformed
context data, SMB2_open() returns without closing the handle, leaving the
server-side handle open and num_remote_opens elevated.

Close the handle after a post-CREATE context parsing failure so the error
path releases the remote resource and balances the open count.

---

_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_