CVE-2026-80878
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's AFS (Andrew File System) implementation. This issue occurs when afs_lookup_volume_rcu() fails to acquire a volume, leading to a resource leak. A local attacker could potentially exploit this flaw to cause a denial of service due to resource exhaustion.
Statement
A flaw rated with an IMPORTANT impact was found in the Linux kernel's Andrew File System (AFS) implementation used in Red Hat products. When afs_lookup_volume_rcu() fails to obtain a reference on a volume because afs_try_get_volume() fails, the dying volume object is leaked instead of being released. A local attacker able to trigger AFS volume lookups on an affected system could exploit this resource leak to exhaust kernel resources and cause a denial of service. Red Hat assigns this flaw a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.0 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). The kernel and kernel-rt components in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 (9.6.z, 9.8.z, 9.9, and 9.10 streams), Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 (10.0.z, 10.2.z, 10.3, and 10.4 streams), and Red Hat In-Vehicle OS 2 are affected, and fixes are being pursued by the responsible engineering teams. Earlier Red Hat Enterprise Linux streams (RHEL 6, 7, 8, and the RHEL 9.2/9.4 streams) are not affected because the vulnerable code is not present in those kernels.
Mitigation
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.
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 | 7 | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | N/A |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | N/A |
| Confidentiality | High | N/A | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | High | N/A | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)
An adversary that can cause a resource counter to become inaccurate may be able to create situations where resources are not accounted for and not released, thus causing resources to become scarce for future needs.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
An adversary that can cause a resource counter to become inaccurate may be able to force an error that causes the product to crash or exit out of its current operation.
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