CVE-2023-54280

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

cifs: fix potential race when tree connecting ipc

Protect access of TCP_Server_Info::hostname when building the ipc tree name as it might get freed in cifsd thread and thus causing an use-after-free bug in __tree_connect_dfs_target(). Also, while at it, update status of IPC tcon on success and then avoid any extra tree connects.

This vulnerability is rated as Moderate severity because exploitation requires local access or interaction with SMB network shares, and the resulting use-after-free condition leads to a denial of service (system crash) rather than arbitrary code execution. The flaw occurs during CIFS tree connect handling for DFS targets when server hostname metadata is freed concurrently by background client threads. Systems that do not actively mount remote SMB or CIFS file shares are not exposed to this vulnerability.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.