Polkit: polkit: denial of service via unbounded input processing through standard input
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-4897 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | redhat |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-03-26 15:16:43 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-03-30 13:26:50 UTC |
| Description | A flaw was found in polkit. A local user can exploit this by providing a specially crafted, excessively long input to the `polkit-agent-helper-1` setuid binary via standard input (stdin). This unbounded input can lead to an out-of-memory (OOM) condition, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the system. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 5.5 MEDIUM from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS: 0.000140000 probability, percentile 0.026450000 (date 2026-04-01)
Problem Types: CWE-770 | CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Primary | 5.5 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 5.5 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
LowUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
NoneIntegrity
NoneAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Not specified | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi | [email protected] | bugzilla.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-4897 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
No vendor comments have been submitted for this CVE.
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2026-03-26T14:24:01.176Z | Reported to Red Hat. |
| CNA | 2026-03-26T12:34:00.000Z | Made public. |
Workarounds
CNA: Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.