CVE-2025-40052: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: fix crypto buffers in non-linear memory The crypto API, through the scatterli

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: fix crypto buffers in non-linear memory The crypto API, through the scatterli

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: fix crypto buffers in non-linear memory The crypto API, through the scatterlist API, expects input buffers to be in linear memory. We handle this with the cifs_sg_set_buf() helper that converts vmalloc'd memory to their corresponding pages. However, when we allocate our aead_request buffer (@creq in smb2ops.c::crypt_message()), we do so with kvzalloc(), which possibly puts aead_request->__ctx in vmalloc area. AEAD algorithm then uses ->__ctx for its private/internal data and operations, and uses sg_set_buf() for such data on a few places. This works fine as long as @creq falls into kmalloc zone (small requests) or vmalloc'd memory is still within linear range. Tasks' stacks are vmalloc'd by default (CONFIG_VMAP_STACK=y), so too many tasks will increment the base stacks' addresses to a point where virt_addr_valid(buf) will fail (BUG() in sg_set_buf()) when that happens. In practice: too many parallel reads and writes on an encrypted mount will trigger this bug. To fix this, always alloc @creq with kmalloc() instead. Also drop the @sensitive_size variable/arguments since kfree_sensitive() doesn'

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.22%, higher than 11% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

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Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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