CVE-2026-97606Hinoki check available

Kernel memory consumption via leaked autofs inodes

Published Sep 25, 2026 · Updated Sep 25, 2026

Memory leak in Linux kernel autofs 6.7 allows local users to consume kernel memory by triggering failed autofs mounts. In autofs_fill_super(), autofs_new_ino() allocates an inode, but the root_inode failure path returns ENOMEM without calling autofs_free_ino(). The trigger requires administrative mount privileges and an allocation failure; repeated failures consume unreleased kernel memory and can degrade service.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.20%
Next 30 days · Oct 19, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkAvailable
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Summary

What happened

Memory leak in Linux kernel autofs 6.7 allows local users to consume kernel memory by triggering failed autofs mounts. In autofs_fill_super(), autofs_new_ino() allocates an inode, but the root_inode failure path returns ENOMEM without calling autofs_free_ino(). The trigger requires administrative mount privileges and an allocation failure; repeated failures consume unreleased kernel memory and can degrade service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-97606
Published
Sep 25, 2026
Updated
Sep 25, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 25, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=66917f85db6002ed09cd24186258892fcfca64b6 <4262b91e08e74cb5209ea737c554cf983d332382
  2. Affected versionversion=66917f85db6002ed09cd24186258892fcfca64b6 <5ab54837fce04a1c9923d0bfd3d5de51fdc768b3
  3. Affected versionversion=66917f85db6002ed09cd24186258892fcfca64b6 <6259b5d9bdc45fdb3158406b28c27fa074823159
  4. Affected versionversion=66917f85db6002ed09cd24186258892fcfca64b6 <9933ad1c4ff67680cd59c47f6d2e81b533bcd467
  5. Affected versionversion=6.7

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=66917f85db6002ed09cd24186258892fcfca64b6 <4262b91e08e74cb5209ea737c554cf983d332382; version=66917f85db6002ed09cd24186258892fcfca64b6 <5ab54837fce04a1c9923d0bfd3d5de51fdc768b3; version=66917f85db6002ed09cd24186258892fcfca64b6 <6259b5d9bdc45fdb3158406b28c27fa074823159; version=66917f85db6002ed09cd24186258892fcfca64b6 <9933ad1c4ff67680cd59c47f6d2e81b533bcd467; version=6.7

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

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.

Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.

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

No observations available

Sep 22, 2026Sep 28, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 28, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

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

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Your stack

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