Vulnerability Snapshot
CVE-2026-53046 is rated CRITICAL — exploitation is trivial or already observed in the wild and impact is severe. Patch immediately, not on the next maintenance window.
Executive 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 asy
Why It Matters
CVE-2026-53046 is rated CRITICAL severity, requiring immediate attention from security teams.
CVSS Base Score: 9.8/10
🛡️What Defenders Should Check
Use Vulnios to continuously monitor your exposure to CVE-2026-53046 and similar vulnerabilities.
References & Sources
How Vulnios Detects This
Vulnios scans for this vulnerability using Trivy and Grype for SBOM-based CVE matching and Vulnios CVE feed continuous monitoring against your asset inventory. Run a scan against your environment to see whether you are exposed; findings are linked back to the original CVE record so triage starts with the patch path already known.
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Sources
Related Threat Alerts
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-53046?
CVE-2026-53046 is a critical-severity vulnerability tracked under the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures program. 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 AEA
Am I affected?
Affected technology is listed in the Affected Products section above. If your asset inventory contains any of them, assume in-scope until you can prove otherwise.
How urgent is the response?
Critical: do not wait for your normal patch cycle. Verify exposure today, apply the vendor patch immediately, and add detection rules for any post-exploit indicators.
How do I remediate?
Apply the vendor patch listed in the upstream advisory linked under Sources. If the patch is not yet available, follow the vendor-supplied workaround (often a config flag or feature disable) and add detections for the published exploit pattern in your SIEM. Re-scan after the patch lands to confirm the finding clears.
Where can I track exploitation activity?
Watch CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog for CVE-2026-53046. Cross-reference with public exploit databases and your own SIEM/IDS for indicator-of-compromise patterns. Vulnios tracks KEV status automatically and surfaces it on the asset findings view.
How does Vulnios help with this?
Vulnios continuously cross-references your asset inventory against the live CVE feed (NVD, vendor advisories, CISA KEV, and curated OSINT). When a new CVE matches your environment, you get a prioritized finding with the severity, KEV status, exploit-prediction (EPSS), and a direct path to the vendor patch. You can start a free scan from the homepage.
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