High severity · published Sep 11, 2026
CVE-2026-89638
smb: client: clear setuid/setgid bit on write with cifsacl/modefromsid/posix extensions
7.8
CVSS
0.2%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
smb: client: clear setuid/setgid bit on write with cifsacl/modefromsid/posix extensions
When a file has the setuid or setgid bit set and is written to, the VFS
strips those bits and issues a setattr with ATTR_KILL_SUID/ATTR_KILL_SGID
together with an ATTR_MODE carrying the already-cleared mode.
Both cifs_setattr_unix() and cifs_setattr_nounix() unconditionally dropped
ATTR_MODE in that case:
/* skip mode change if it's just for clearing setuid/setgid */
if (attrs->ia_valid & (ATTR_KILL_SUID|ATTR_KILL_SGID))
attrs->ia_valid &= ~ATTR_MODE;
This is fine for the default mount, where the mode is only emulated via
the DOS read-only attribute and cannot represent the setuid/setgid bits
anyway. However, with the "cifsacl" or "modefromsid" mount options the
mode is stored on the server through an ACL (id_mode_to_cifs_acl()), with
the SMB3.1.1 POSIX extensions the mode is sent to the server directly,
and with the SMB1 Unix extensions (cifs_setattr_unix) the mode is sent
via CIFSSMBUnixSetPathInfo(). In all those cases dropping ATTR_MODE means
the cleared mode is never pushed to the server, so the setuid/setgid bit
survives the write.
This is a security issue: on local filesystems the setuid bit is stripped
when a file is written, but over these cifs.ko mounts the bit persists on
the server, potentially allowing an unexpected privilege escalation on
subsequent execution.
Fix this in two places:
1. cifs_setattr_nounix(): only take the "skip mode change" shortcut
when the mode is emulated via the DOS read-only attribute (i.e.
neither cifsacl/modefromsid nor the SMB3.1.1 POSIX extensions are
in effect), so that the cleared mode is propagated to the server
in the ACL / POSIX cases.
2. cifs_setattr_unix(): this function is only called when Unix
extensions are in effect, so the mode is always stored on the
server. Remove the shortcut entirely so that the cleared mode is
always pushed.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.2% · higher than 7% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
LI
Linux · Linux
d32c4f2626acc385d5187bd5c0c24f442328dc60 before 7ceb6f7cb8f8f2b094e0dcdaf75757775d231378; d32c4f2626acc385d5187bd5c0c24f442328dc60 before 58b23fc9fb580432470d6c5da3c1e5660dba9fbc; d32c4f2626acc385d5187bd5c0c24f442328dc60 before b10015807e4c628095d1d1d1c9307efc8cdd9e1b; d32c4f2626acc385d5187bd5c0c24f442328dc60 before 69bfe810ecd1e0387d8975d711cd326341d13c6e; d32c4f2626acc385d5187bd5c0c24f442328dc60 before b8e5dc4f95e5484159b343903f302eb6d783f2e6; 2.6.24 · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89638
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-89638
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/58b23fc9fb580432470d6c5da3c1e5660dba9fbc
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/69bfe810ecd1e0387d8975d711cd326341d13c6e
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7ceb6f7cb8f8f2b094e0dcdaf75757775d231378
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b10015807e4c628095d1d1d1c9307efc8cdd9e1b
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b8e5dc4f95e5484159b343903f302eb6d783f2e6
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