CVE-2026-45870
SUNRPC: auth_gss: fix memory leaks in XDR decoding error paths
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: SUNRPC: auth_gss: fix memory leaks in XDR decoding error paths The gssx_dec_ctx(), gssx_dec_status(), and gssx_dec_name() functions allocate memory via gssx_dec_buffer(), which calls kmemdup(). When a subsequent decode operation fails, these functions return immediately without freeing previously allocated buffers, causing memory leaks. The leak in gssx_dec_ctx() is particularly relevant because the caller (gssp_accept_sec_context_upcall) initializes several buffer length fields to non-zero values, resulting in memory allocation: struct gssx_ctx rctxh = { .exported_context_token.len = GSSX_max_output_handle_sz, .mech.len = GSS_OID_MAX_LEN, .src_name.display_name.len = GSSX_max_princ_sz, .targ_name.display_name.len = GSSX_max_princ_sz }; If, for example, gssx_dec_name() succeeds for src_name but fails for targ_name, the memory allocated for exported_context_token, mech, and src_name.display_name remains unreferenced and cannot be reclaimed. Add error handling with goto-based cleanup to free any previously allocated buffers before returning an error.
INFO
Published Date :
May 27, 2026, 2:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
May 27, 2026, 2:48 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Solution
- Update the Linux kernel to the latest version.
- Verify GSS security context decoding error paths.
- Ensure allocated buffers are freed on error.
- Monitor system memory usage.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
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CVE-2026-45870.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-45870 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-45870
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
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The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
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Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
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New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
May. 27, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: SUNRPC: auth_gss: fix memory leaks in XDR decoding error paths The gssx_dec_ctx(), gssx_dec_status(), and gssx_dec_name() functions allocate memory via gssx_dec_buffer(), which calls kmemdup(). When a subsequent decode operation fails, these functions return immediately without freeing previously allocated buffers, causing memory leaks. The leak in gssx_dec_ctx() is particularly relevant because the caller (gssp_accept_sec_context_upcall) initializes several buffer length fields to non-zero values, resulting in memory allocation: struct gssx_ctx rctxh = { .exported_context_token.len = GSSX_max_output_handle_sz, .mech.len = GSS_OID_MAX_LEN, .src_name.display_name.len = GSSX_max_princ_sz, .targ_name.display_name.len = GSSX_max_princ_sz }; If, for example, gssx_dec_name() succeeds for src_name but fails for targ_name, the memory allocated for exported_context_token, mech, and src_name.display_name remains unreferenced and cannot be reclaimed. Add error handling with goto-based cleanup to free any previously allocated buffers before returning an error. Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3b56eb90feb8a3709417f5624f3871847d42bcb1 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3e6397b056335cc56ef0e9da36c95946a19f5118 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/64303b92d94c0c7845a273acd8d84b796d6f1db7 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b4af3806846778799cd4ab0766dc18341e777264 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c81431b1b9fbd21e9a5a9211b5517b7295d18e6a Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/caf7eff432e91a9eba1c79fa545c2f54be15d62b Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d79b9097a6a2b91471b40755f1225364be5d85ff Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/df10f23defff22c8d55fe6db74f6e4ce927145bf