CVE-2026-98453

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Server Message Block (SMB) client. A malicious or compromised SMB server can trigger this vulnerability by returning malformed context responses during a file open operation. When the client fails to parse the context data, it aborts the operation without closing the newly established remote handle, resulting in a resource leak that may lead to a Denial of Service (DoS).

This vulnerability is rated as Moderate severity because successful exploitation requires connecting to an untrusted or compromised remote SMB endpoint, with the impact confined to handle resource exhaustion rather than arbitrary code execution or data exposure. Under standard Red Hat Enterprise Linux deployments, SMB network filesystems are not mounted by default and require deliberate administrative action to configure. Systems that do not mount external CIFS/SMB shares or only interact with trusted infrastructure are not exposed to this issue.

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.