Krb5: mit krb5 kadmind unauthenticated memory leak dos via auth_gssapi_init error paths
Affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 through 10 and Red Hat Hardened Images where kadmind accepts legacy AUTH_GSSAPI requests. No vendor severity or fixed version is listed in the checked facts.
Written by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5 from the sources below. Verify against them.
- Exploited
- No known exploitation
- Fix
- No fix listed
- Who is exposed
- Specific setups only
Do first: Check whether your setup matches what the bug needs. The service accepts legacy AUTH_GSSAPI requests, such as kadmind
- Last modified
- A 0-100 score for how much a CVE matters across the industry: exploitation, exposure, how widely the software is used, severity and whether a fix exists.What do these mean? →
- 38/100 · provisional
- How many real-world setups can hit the bug, from the vendor's advisory and CISA data. It does not know your setup.What do these mean? →
- Specific setups only
- Whether working attack code is public (Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei or GitHub). Public code makes attacks easier.What do these mean? →
- None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub
- Exploitation: none
- Automatable: yes
- Technical impact: partial
Summary
The AUTH_GSSAPI handler in lib/rpc/svc_auth_gssapi.c in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) does not free decoded arguments on certain error paths, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory exhaustion in kadmind) via crafted AUTH_GSSAPI_INIT requests that trigger authentication failures.
cve.now Index
- Exploitation0/40No signal
- Exposure15/25Specific setups only, CISA rates it automatable
- Reach10/20Shipped in major Linux distributions
- Severity7.5/10CVSS 7.5
- No patch5/5No patch listed yet
What would change the score
- Would score about 88 if added to CISA KEV
- Would score about 83 if CISA's SSVC rates exploitation active
What to do
Check whether your setup matches what the bug needs.
The service accepts legacy AUTH_GSSAPI requests, such as kadmindWorkaround: Restrict network access to kadmind to trusted hosts, or disable it in favor of kadmin.local server-side command line tool for administration operations if possible.
Timeline
- CVE published
- First seen by cve.now
- CISA SSVC assessment
Exploitation: none · Automatable: yes · Technical impact: partial
- Record last updated
Affected versions
- krb5
Version range not reported
- krb5
Version range not reported
- krb5
Version range not reported
- krb5
Version range not reported
- krb5
Version range not reported
- krb5
Version range not reported
Evidence 2
- Report
- Link
Corrections
None so far.
Something wrong on this page? Report an error. Every fix is listed here.
Questions about CVE-2026-112321
Is CVE-2026-112321 being exploited?
It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.Source: cve.now feed data
What does this mean?
A flaw in the error paths of MIT Kerberos kadmind's auth_gssapi_init lets an unauthenticated remote attacker exhaust system memory, causing a denial of service in the service.Source: access.redhat.com
Am I affected, and how do I check?
The checked facts list Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 and Red Hat Hardened Images, and the issue applies where the service accepts legacy AUTH_GSSAPI requests, such as kadmind. To check a setup, confirm whether kadmind is installed and running and which Red Hat Enterprise Linux release the host runs.Source: access.redhat.com
How do I fix CVE-2026-112321?
The checked facts do not list a fixed version, so no upgrade target can be given. Until one is confirmed, restrict network access to kadmind to trusted hosts, or disable kadmind in favor of the kadmin.local command line tool for administration if possible.Source: access.redhat.com
What if there's no patch?
While no fix is available, restrict network access to kadmind to trusted hosts. If possible, disable kadmind and use the kadmin.local server-side command line tool for administration instead.Source: access.redhat.com