CVE-2026-45964

Service interruption via SUNRPC GSS reference leak

Published May 27, 2026 · Updated May 27, 2026

Memory leak in the Linux Kernel SUNRPC GSS client allows local users to exhaust kernel memory through repeated allocation failures. The gss_alloc_msg error path frees gss_msg after kstrdup_const fails but omits kref_put, leaving the gss_auth reference permanently held. Reaching the leak requires a non-NULL service_name and allocation failure; repeated failures consume kernel memory and can interrupt service.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.16%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Memory leak in the Linux Kernel SUNRPC GSS client allows local users to exhaust kernel memory through repeated allocation failures. The gss_alloc_msg error path frees gss_msg after kstrdup_const fails but omits kref_put, leaving the gss_auth reference permanently held. Reaching the leak requires a non-NULL service_name and allocation failure; repeated failures consume kernel memory and can interrupt service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-45964
Published
May 27, 2026
Updated
May 27, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 27, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 27, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=5.2
  2. Affected versionversion=5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e <3b2b6c42070ce4204936288253baf101e995c2d3
  3. Affected versionversion=5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e <655c9ba9915f05266998dbbf4b76b3c79b8a70aa
  4. Affected versionversion=5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e <a1bc9561b617ec7e2d09e6c134d1db8fcf9ca4a6
  5. Affected versionversion=5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e <a2d4e9a76de0b2178001214ba5de5bf94a7354aa
  6. Affected versionversion=5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e <b559be2ec6cdb2e9c2c36c23fbbd4690d8a5c3f7
  7. Affected versionversion=5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e <c20f925214249bb4fc04f7e197bea142a6438af6
  8. Affected versionversion=5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e <dd2fdc3504592d85e549c523b054898a036a6afe
  9. Affected versionversion=5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e <e464e26b2457005c87e158570498274b9f3b90c7

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=5.2; version=5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e <3b2b6c42070ce4204936288253baf101e995c2d3; version=5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e <655c9ba9915f05266998dbbf4b76b3c79b8a70aa; version=5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e <a1bc9561b617ec7e2d09e6c134d1db8fcf9ca4a6; version=5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e <a2d4e9a76de0b2178001214ba5de5bf94a7354aa; version=5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e <b559be2ec6cdb2e9c2c36c23fbbd4690d8a5c3f7; version=5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e <c20f925214249bb4fc04f7e197bea142a6438af6; version=5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e <dd2fdc3504592d85e549c523b054898a036a6afe; version=5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e <e464e26b2457005c87e158570498274b9f3b90c7

Published CVSS scores

5.5Oracle LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.7Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo