SB2026052834 - Improper resource shutdown or release in Linux kernel notify inotify

Description

This security bulletin contains information about 1 vulnerability.

1) Improper resource shutdown or release (CVE-ID: CVE-2026-46040)

CWE-ID: CWE-404 - Improper Resource Shutdown or Release

CVSSv4: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear

The vulnerability allows a local user to cause a denial of service.

The vulnerability exists due to improper resource shutdown or release in inotify_new_watch() when handling a failure from fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked(). A local user can repeatedly trigger watch creation failures to cause a denial of service.

The issue can exhaust the max_user_watches limit with -ENOSPC even when no watches are active.

Remediation

Install update from vendor's website.

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6a320935fa4293e9e599ec9f85dc9eb3be7029f8
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/73ddc8518a32baff6bc17afda4ee1ebae5b4ed12
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8bcc1cd237ab5ccfdd102869fa031c541943cf40
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9e48844f708eb48bae4e79cb21edc097c966306d
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fdaa42ca370d056428e5e171247c8fdce8dff36a