Linux Kernel SMB Client Symlink Handling Vulnerability

A regression vulnerability in the Linux kernel's SMB client has been addressed, which affected the handling of native SMB symlinks. Users reported issues with backup and copy tools when directories contained symlink targets that the client could not parse, even if the symlinks were not followed. The vulnerability arose because the client failed to properly handle certain symlink scenarios, leading to errors in file operations. The fix restores the previous behavior by allowing the lstat and readlink system calls to succeed, even when the client cannot resolve the symlink target.

Impact

The vulnerability could cause backup and copy operations to fail when encountering certain symlink configurations, disrupting file management processes.