Highly exploitable, CVE-2026-53396 poses a critical security risk that could lead to severe breaches.
Status: Received on 19 Jul 2026, 12:16 UTC
Last updated: 🕒 20 Jul 2026, 15:16 UTC
Originally published on: 🕛 19 Jul 2026, 12:16 UTC
Time between publication and last update: 1 days
CVSS Release: version 3
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Secondary
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H
CVE-2026-53396: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: fix posix_acl leak and ignored error in nfsd4_create_file nfsd4_create_file() has two bugs in its ACL handling: The return value of nfsd4_acl_to_attr() is silently discarded. When the NFSv4-to-POSIX ACL conversion fails (e.g., -EINVAL for unsupported ACE types), the file is created without any ACL and the client receives NFS4_OK. This violates RFC 7530/8881 which require the server to reject unsupported attributes on CREATE. When start_creating() fails after ACL attributes have been populated in attrs (either via nfsd4_acl_to_attr or via ownership transfer from open->op_dpacl/op_pacl), the function jumps to out_write which skips nfsd_attrs_free(). The posix_acl allocations are leaked. A client can trigger this repeatedly with OPEN(CREATE), ACL attributes, and an invalid filename (e.g., longer than NAME_MAX). Fix both by capturing the nfsd4_acl_to_attr() return value and by changing the early error paths to jump to out instead of out_write. Initialize child to ERR_PTR(-EINVAL) so that end_creating() is safe to call even if start_creating() was never reached.
The exploitability of CVE-2026-53396 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
CVE-2026-53396 presents an accessible attack vector with minimal effort required. Restricting access controls and implementing security updates are critical to reducing exploitation risks.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2026-53396, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2026-53396, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
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