CVE-2025-68809: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: vfs: fix race on m_flags in vfs_cache ksmbd
Summary
A race condition (a bug where multiple processes access the same data simultaneously without proper coordination) existed in ksmbd, a Linux kernel component that handles file sharing, where different parts of the code accessed delete-on-close and pending-delete flags inconsistently, sometimes using locks (protective mechanisms that prevent simultaneous access) and sometimes not, potentially causing files to disappear unexpectedly or remain on disk when they shouldn't.
Solution / Mitigation
The fix involves: (1) Making ksmbd_query_inode_status() check the flags under ci->m_lock (a lock protecting the data) after releasing inode_hash_lock; (2) Adding ci->m_lock protection to all helper functions that read or modify the flags (ksmbd_inode_pending_delete(), ksmbd_set_inode_pending_delete(), ksmbd_clear_inode_pending_delete(), ksmbd_fd_set_delete_on_close()); (3) Keeping existing ci->m_lock protection in __ksmbd_inode_close() while moving the actual file deletion outside the lock to unify locking around these flags and remove the data race.
Vulnerability Details
EPSS: 0.0%
Classification
Original source: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-68809
First tracked: February 15, 2026 at 08:36 PM
Classified by LLM (prompt v3) · confidence: 95%