CVE-2026-104041
Description
A flaw was found in SSSD. An unprivileged local user can repeatedly request lookups for nonexistent entries through the Name Service Switch (NSS) responder. Because the negative cache does not limit the total number of stored entries and only removes expired records when an existing key is rechecked, the cache can grow without bound. This behavior can lead to memory exhaustion, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) as the responder becomes unresponsive or terminates.
Statement
This vulnerability is rated as Moderate impact because exploitation is confined to authenticated local accounts capable of issuing repeated failed lookups, restricting the blast radius strictly to host service availability rather than privilege escalation or data disclosure. On Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems where SSSD handles local identity resolution, the responder socket is accessible to unprivileged users by default. While sustained, distinct lookup misses can exhaust responder memory and disrupt host name service availability, the issue cannot be triggered remotely in standard configurations and does not compromise system integrity or confidentiality.
Mitigation
Set `entry_negative_timeout = 0` in the `[nss]` section of `/etc/sssd/sssd.conf` to disable non-permanent negative-cache insertions, then restart the SSSD service (for example, `systemctl restart sssd`) to apply the change. Note that restarting sssd briefly interrupts active authentication and identity lookups, and disabling the negative cache increases lookup traffic to identity backends for nonexistent entries. If responder memory growth is observed, the accumulated negative-cache state can be cleared through the existing operational clear path or by restarting the responder. Restricting untrusted local users also limits exposure on systems where the NSS responder socket is reachable by local users.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.5 | N/A | 5.5 |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | Local |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | Low |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | None |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | None |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Acknowledgements
This issue was discovered by Found by AISLE in partnership with Red Hat.
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