CVE-2025-37778

CVE-2025-37778 is a use-after-free vulnerability found in the Linux kernel's ksmbd component, specifically within the Kerberos authentication pathway during remote client session setups. The vulnerability arises when the `krb_authenticate` function frees `sess->user` but doesn't set the pointer to NULL. Subsequently, `ksmbd_krb5_authenticate` might not reinitialize `sess->user`, leading `smb2_sess_setup` to access freed memory when using `sess->user`. This flaw can lead to memory corruption, potentially allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of the Linux kernel, and distributions like SUSE are actively working on providing patches.