Memory leak in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-74494
Published: August 16, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU143284
CSH Severity: Medium
CVSS v4: 6.9 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-74494
CWE-ID: CWE-401
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service.
The vulnerability exists due to a memory leak in smb2_handle_negotiate() and connection negotiation state handling when sending repeated SMB2 NEGOTIATE requests on one connection before SESSION_SETUP. A remote attacker can send multiple successful SMB2 NEGOTIATE requests to cause a denial of service.
The issue occurs after a dialect has already been selected and before session setup completes.
Affected software
Linux kernel
Debian Linux
linux (Debian package)
Debian Linux
linux (Debian package)
How to mitigate CVE-2026-74494
Install security update from vendor's repository.
Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
linux (Debian package) - update to 6.12.105-1
linux (Debian package) - update to 6.12.105-1