---
id: CVE-2026-98454
title: 'kernel: smb: client: fix create context out-of-bounds reads (CVE-2026-98454)'
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Server Message Block (SMB) client. A
  malicious SMB server can exploit this vulnerability by sending malformed
  create context responses to a connecting system. Because the client fails to
  properly vali…
severity: medium
cvss: 6.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-125
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
  - enterprise_linux 8
  - enterprise_linux 9
  - openshift_container_platform 4
published: '2026-10-18'
updated: '2026-10-24'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-24T14:23:08+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98454.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98454.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98454'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2554892'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98454'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98454'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98454.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e4c49012708c917eafd9c27054b02d0f8b30fe64'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/28bc9a871799363afa3139e961a8e3684feb8704'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/05a7fd80024ff32b9b40ab1478bb172eeab1c386'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cecc5399987e73a528ce2b662eeb54af69163cbd'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/67f4c1c6a1b51e203d986779299824d1c2c590a6'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00344
epssPercentile: 0.27773
scores:
  vendor: 6.5
  cna: 8.1
ingestedAt: '2026-10-18T15:45:12.304Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Server Message Block (SMB) client. A malicious SMB server can exploit this vulnerability by sending malformed create context responses to a connecting system. Because the client fails to properly validate record boundaries during response parsing, this issue can trigger out-of-bounds memory reads, leading to a Denial of Service (DoS) or unauthorized information disclosure.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · updated 2026-10-24 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98454.json)

**kernel: smb: client: fix create context out-of-bounds reads** — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-24.

Affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

## Remediation

Fix deferred