VulnerabilityPublished 27 May 2026Updated 6 Nov 2026

CVE-2026-45964: Linux kernel · SUNRPC: fix gss_auth kref leak in gss_alloc_msg error path

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · fixed in e464e26b2457005c87e158570498274b9f3b90c7 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 6 Nov 2026, 16:34 UTC

Severity

Unrated

Rated by Threat Radar · No CVSS score from NVD or the CNA

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

Exploitation: No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
Automatable: Attackers cannot reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
Technical impact: Limited control over the software or limited information exposure

CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-11-06.

Patch

Available – fixed in e464e26b2457005c87e158570498274b9f3b90c7, dd2fdc3504592d85e549c523b054898a036a6afe, c20f925214249bb4fc04f7e197bea142a6438af6 +5

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 27 May 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 6 Nov 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e, < e464e26b2457005c87e158570498274b9f3b90c7	Fixed in e464e26b2457005c87e158570498274b9f3b90c7
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e, < dd2fdc3504592d85e549c523b054898a036a6afe	Fixed in dd2fdc3504592d85e549c523b054898a036a6afe
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e, < c20f925214249bb4fc04f7e197bea142a6438af6	Fixed in c20f925214249bb4fc04f7e197bea142a6438af6
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e, < b559be2ec6cdb2e9c2c36c23fbbd4690d8a5c3f7	Fixed in b559be2ec6cdb2e9c2c36c23fbbd4690d8a5c3f7
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e, < a2d4e9a76de0b2178001214ba5de5bf94a7354aa	Fixed in a2d4e9a76de0b2178001214ba5de5bf94a7354aa
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 5940d1cf9f42f67e9cc3f7df9eda39f5888d6e9e, < a1bc9561b617ec7e2d09e6c134d1db8fcf9ca4a6	Fixed in a1bc9561b617ec7e2d09e6c134d1db8fcf9ca4a6

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: SUNRPC: fix gss_auth kref leak in gss_alloc_msg error path Commit 5940d1cf9f42 ("SUNRPC: Rebalance a kref in auth_gss.c") added a kref_get(&gss_auth->kref) call to balance the gss_put_auth() done in gss_release_msg(), but forgot to add a corresponding kref_put() on the error path when kstrdup_const() fails. If service_name is non-NULL and kstrdup_const() fails, the function jumps to err_put_pipe_version which calls put_pipe_version() and kfree(gss_msg), but never releases the gss_auth reference. This leads to a kref leak where the gss_auth structure is never freed. Add a forward declaration for gss_free_callback() and call kref_put() in the err_put_pipe_version error path to properly release the reference taken earlier.

References

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