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Advisory severityMediumRed Hat Linux

Medium [CVE-2026-53046] fix use-after-free from async crypto on Qualcomm crypto engine

This medium-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-53046.

Aggregated and source-linked by VulniPulse. Data sources, validation and limitations.

CVE-2026-53046 Source published Source updated

VulniPulse record published Record updated

CVE-2026-53046
Affected products & platforms
Red Hat LinuxUnclassified
Open source advisory

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: fix use-after-free from async crypto on Qualcomm crypto engine ksmbd_crypt_message() sets a NULL completion callback on AEAD requests and does not handle the -EINPROGRESS return code from async hardware crypto engines like the Qualcomm Crypto Engine (QCE).

When QCE returns -EINPROGRESS, ksmbd treats it as an error and immediately frees the request while the hardware DMA operation is still in flight.

The DMA completion callback then dereferences freed memory, causing a NULL pointer crash: pc: qce_skcipher_done+0x24/0x174 lr: vchan_complete+0x230/0x27c... el1h_64_irq+0x68/0x6c ksmbd_free_work_struct+0x20/0x118 [ksmbd] ksmbd_exit_file_cache+0x694/0xa4c [ksmbd] Use the standard crypto_wait_req() pattern with crypto_req_done() as the completion callback, matching the approach used by the SMB client in fs/smb/client/smb2ops.c.

This properly handles both synchronous engines (immediate return) and async engines (-EINPROGRESS followed by callback notification). When the QCE returns an in-progress status, ksmbd prematurely frees memory while hardware operations are still active.

This can lead to a NULL pointer crash, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the system. Red Hat severity: Moderate.

Weakness: CWE-364.

Is CVE-2026-53046 exploited?

No exploitation is reported in the sources VulniPulse tracks: CVE-2026-53046 is not in the CISA KEV catalog (checked ) and this advisory does not report exploitation. That is not proof the vulnerability cannot be exploited.

How do I fix CVE-2026-53046?

The advisory VulniPulse tracks names no fixed release. Follow Red Hat's guidance for workarounds and updates.

Confirm against the vendor advisory before you patch.

Affected versions

No affected-version range was extracted from the source record. The vendor advisory is authoritative. Check it before change work.

Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 14 days ago·verify at source

Fixed versions

No fixed release is recorded yet. That does not prove no patch exists. Confirm against the vendor advisory.

Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 14 days ago·verify at source

Mitigation

The source record does not include mitigation steps. That does not mean no fix exists. Read the vendor advisory below for the authoritative guidance.

Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 14 days ago·verify at source

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