Linux hwe edge: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: af_unix: Fix memleak of newsk in unix_stream_connect(). (CVE-2026-45887)
A memory leak vulnerability (CVE-2026-45887) in the Linux kernel's AF_UNIX socket implementation was fixed. The issue occurs in the unix_stream_connect() function where, if prepare_peercred() fails, the new socket (newsk) is not properly released, causing a memory leak. The fix involved reordering calls to ensure proper cleanup. This vulnerability has a moderate CVSS score of 5.5 and affects various Ubuntu LTS versions and related distributions.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
CVE-2026-45887 addresses a memory leak in the Linux kernel's AF_UNIX socket code. Specifically, when the prepare_peercred() function fails during unix_stream_connect(), the new socket object (newsk) is not released via unix_release_sock(), leading to a memory leak (CWE-401). The patch moves the prepare_peercred() call before unix_create1() to ensure that newsk is properly cleaned up on failure. This vulnerability impacts the linux-hwe-edge product and is tracked under multiple Ubuntu LTS releases.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability causes a memory leak in the kernel when certain socket connection failures occur. While it does not affect confidentiality or integrity, it impacts availability by potentially exhausting kernel memory resources over time. The CVSS vector indicates local attack complexity is low, privileges required are low, and no user interaction is needed. There are no known exploits in the wild.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Since this is a kernel memory leak fix, applying the official Linux kernel updates or distribution-specific patches for the affected Ubuntu versions when available is recommended to resolve the issue.
Linux hwe edge: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: af_unix: Fix memleak of newsk in unix_stream_connect(). (CVE-2026-45887)
Description
A memory leak vulnerability (CVE-2026-45887) in the Linux kernel's AF_UNIX socket implementation was fixed. The issue occurs in the unix_stream_connect() function where, if prepare_peercred() fails, the new socket (newsk) is not properly released, causing a memory leak. The fix involved reordering calls to ensure proper cleanup. This vulnerability has a moderate CVSS score of 5.5 and affects various Ubuntu LTS versions and related distributions.
CVSS v3.1
Score 5.5medium
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-45887 addresses a memory leak in the Linux kernel's AF_UNIX socket code. Specifically, when the prepare_peercred() function fails during unix_stream_connect(), the new socket object (newsk) is not released via unix_release_sock(), leading to a memory leak (CWE-401). The patch moves the prepare_peercred() call before unix_create1() to ensure that newsk is properly cleaned up on failure. This vulnerability impacts the linux-hwe-edge product and is tracked under multiple Ubuntu LTS releases.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability causes a memory leak in the kernel when certain socket connection failures occur. While it does not affect confidentiality or integrity, it impacts availability by potentially exhausting kernel memory resources over time. The CVSS vector indicates local attack complexity is low, privileges required are low, and no user interaction is needed. There are no known exploits in the wild.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Since this is a kernel memory leak fix, applying the official Linux kernel updates or distribution-specific patches for the affected Ubuntu versions when available is recommended to resolve the issue.
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Osv Id
- GHSA-c5xh-c73j-mcx2
- Osv Schema Version
- 1.4.0
- Aliases
- ["CVE-2026-45887"]
- Database Specific Severity
- MODERATE
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
Threat ID: 6a3ef7ef27e9c79719034b72
Added to database: 06/26/2026, 22:06:39 UTC
Last enriched: 08/01/2026, 02:44:47 UTC
Last updated: 09/14/2026, 22:01:34 UTC
Views: 126
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