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Linux Kernel EUVDEUVD-2026-32309

| CVE-2026-46012 MEDIUM
Memory Leak (CWE-401)
2026-05-27 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 GHSA-29h5-9g4g-x624
5.5
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Gain low-privilege local shell access
  2. Delivery
    Confirm rxrpc/rxkad module is loaded and AFS auth is active
  3. Exploit
    Repeatedly invoke Kerberos auth operations via rxrpc
  4. Execution
    Trigger error exit paths in rxkad_verify_response() without freeing ticket/key memory
  5. Persist
    Accumulate kernel memory exhaustion over sustained invocations
  6. Impact
    Trigger OOM condition causing denial of service

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Resource cleanup, leak prevention
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires: (1) local system access with at least low-privilege credentials (PR:L per CVSS - an unprivileged shell account suffices); (2) the rxrpc kernel module loaded and active, which occurs only on AFS client deployments - rxrpc is not loaded by default on standard Linux distributions; (3) the rxkad Kerberos authentication path engaged, meaning AFS Kerberos authentication must be configured and in use; and (4) the ability to repeatedly invoke authentication operations to accumulate leaked memory over time. Remote exploitation is not possible (AV:L). There is no confidentiality or integrity exposure - impact is limited to availability via kernel memory exhaustion. Standard desktop, server, or cloud Linux instances that do not run an AFS client are not exposed to this vulnerability.

Impact

The CVSS 3.1 score of 5.5 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H) accurately characterizes this as a local, low-privilege, availability-only issue. The EPSS score of 0.02% at the 5th percentile is consistent with the constrained exploitation path - this subsystem is not widely exercised. The CVE is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog, and no public proof-of-concept has been identified, making real-world exploitation even less probable. Critically, rxrpc and rxkad are not loaded or active on most general-purpose Linux deployments; only systems operating as AFS clients with Kerberos authentication configured are actually exposed. The impact ceiling is an out-of-memory denial of service requiring sustained, repeated local triggering - not a single-shot remote exploit. This is a legitimate medium-severity bug to patch in the next maintenance window but does not warrant emergency response for the vast majority of deployments.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local user with a standard low-privilege shell account on an AFS-enabled Linux host repeatedly invokes Kerberos authentication operations through the rxrpc subsystem, triggering error return paths inside rxkad_verify_response() that exit without freeing ticket or server key allocations. Sustained invocation accumulates leaked kernel memory until the system hits an out-of-memory condition, potentially crashing the host or triggering the OOM killer against critical services. No public proof-of-concept exploit has been identified; achieving reliable exploitation requires knowledge of rxrpc internals and persistent local access.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Jun 16, 2026

Memory exhaustion denial-of-service in the Linux kernel's rxkad Kerberos authentication layer allows a local low-privilege attacker to leak kernel memory by repeatedly triggering error paths in rxkad_verify_response(). The vulnerability affects kernels from approximately 5.11 through all unpatched stable series prior to 6.6.140, 6.12.86, 6.18.27, and 7.0.4. No public exploit exists and EPSS sits at 0.02% (5th percentile), indicating minimal real-world exploitation likelihood; however, systems running AFS workloads with rxrpc active warrant patching at next maintenance.

RemediationAI

The primary fix is to upgrade the Linux kernel to a patched stable release: 6.6.140, 6.12.86, 6.18.27, or 7.0.4 (or later within each branch); 7.1-rc1 also contains the fix. Upstream commits are available at the kernel.org stable links listed in the affected products section. Distribution maintainers (Red Hat, Ubuntu, SUSE, Debian) typically backport these fixes - consult your distribution's security errata before manually applying upstream patches. As an interim workaround where patching is not immediately feasible, prevent the rxrpc kernel module from loading by adding the directive 'install rxrpc /bin/true' to /etc/modprobe.d/disable-rxrpc.conf and rebooting. This completely eliminates exposure but disables all AFS Kerberos authentication; it is appropriate only for systems that do not depend on AFS.

Affected VersionsENISA

Linux patch: 6.12.86
Linux ec832bd06d6fdf08b0455ab7c2a7a9104e029638 <c91f33fb8356dedc82bc56ce210f1a5dbee62a52
Linux ec832bd06d6fdf08b0455ab7c2a7a9104e029638 <c4b8f32e73eafd4a5076be890c7c8506ec04567c
Linux patch: 6.18.27
Linux patch: 7.0.4
Linux ec832bd06d6fdf08b0455ab7c2a7a9104e029638 <861b9a0a1823bf064a7b810d29502a9ef043f40f
Linux patch: 6.6.140
Linux patch: 7.1-rc1
Linux ec832bd06d6fdf08b0455ab7c2a7a9104e029638 <34f61a07e0cdefaecd3ec03bb5fb22215643678f
Linux 5.11
Linux patch: 0
Linux ec832bd06d6fdf08b0455ab7c2a7a9104e029638 <852b9d64cea421336579b2de3d1338dfa677e2dd

Affected Packages

euvd linux no fix

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The flaw resides in the Linux kernel's rxkad module (net/rxrpc/rxkad.c), which implements Kerberos-based authentication for the RxRPC transport protocol - used almost exclusively by the AFS (Andrew File System) distributed filesystem client. The root cause is CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime): rxkad_verify_response() allocated memory for a Kerberos ticket buffer and a server key object but did not free both allocations on all error return paths. The fix initializes the ticket pointer to NULL at function entry and funnels all post-allocation exits through a single cleanup epilogue that conditionally releases both objects, skipping NULL pointers safely. The vulnerable commit range originates at ec832bd06d6fdf08b0455ab7c2a7a9104e029638 (approximately Linux 5.11) and is confirmed across four distinct stable branches by EUVD data.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 5.5 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
vuln.today AI 5.5 MEDIUM

Local-only kernel memory leak requiring low-privilege trigger; no confidentiality or integrity impact; high availability impact via OOM exhaustion.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE 6.5 MEDIUM
AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Red Hat 6.5 MEDIUM

Primary rating from NVD.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

4
CVSS changed
Jun 16, 2026 - 15:37 NVD
5.5 (MEDIUM)
Patch available
May 27, 2026 - 19:46 EUVD
CVE Published
May 27, 2026 - 14:17 nvd
MEDIUM 5.5
CVE Published
May 27, 2026 - 14:17 nvd
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)

DescriptionNVD

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

rxrpc: Fix memory leaks in rxkad_verify_response()

Fix rxkad_verify_response() to free the ticket and the server key under all circumstances by initialising the ticket pointer to NULL and then making all paths through the function after the first allocation has been done go through a single common epilogue that just releases everything - where all the releases skip on a NULL pointer.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 95% exploitable
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

28
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +28
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Moderate
Product Status
openSUSE Tumbleweed Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Affected

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