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CVE-2026-4897

Polkit: polkit: denial of service via unbounded input processing through standard input

5.5 MediumFix available

A flaw was found in polkit. A local user can exploit this by providing a specially crafted, excessively long input to the polkit-agent-helper-1 setuid binary via standard input (stdin). This unbounded input can lead to an out-of-memory (OOM) condition, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the system.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
Low
User interaction
None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Exploit likelihood

0.16%Up 0.1 points since Mar 27, 2026
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 5.5

Polkit: polkit: denial of service via unbounded input processing through standard input

A flaw was found in polkit. A local user can exploit this by providing a specially crafted, excessively long input to the polkit-agent-helper-1 setuid binary via standard input (stdin). This unbounded input can lead to an out-of-memory (OOM) condition, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the system.

Record
CVE-2026-4897
CVSS 3.1
5.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness
CWE-770
Updated
2026-11-05
EUVDEUVD-2026-16214 5.5

A flaw was found in polkit. A local user can exploit this by providing a specially crafted, excessively long input to the polkit-agent-helper-1 setuid binary via standard input (stdin). This unbounded input can lead to an out-of-memory (OOM) condition, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the system.

Record
EUVD-2026-16214
CVSS 3.1
5.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-05
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-v4jf-wwp4-588q 5.5

A flaw was found in polkit. A local user can exploit this by providing a specially crafted,...

A flaw was found in polkit. A local user can exploit this by providing a specially crafted, excessively long input to the polkit-agent-helper-1 setuid binary via standard input (stdin). This unbounded input can lead to an out-of-memory (OOM) condition, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the system.

Record
GHSA-v4jf-wwp4-588q
CVSS 3.1
5.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness
CWE-770
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 5.5

A flaw was found in polkit. A local user can exploit this by providing a specially crafted, excessively long input to the polkit-agent-helper-1 setuid binary via standard input (stdin). This unbounded input can lead to an out-of-memory (OOM) condition, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the system.

Record
CVE-2026-4897
CVSS 3.1
5.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness
CWE-770
Updated
2026-11-05
OSVBELL-CVE-2026-4897 5.5
Record
BELL-CVE-2026-4897
CVSS 3.1
5.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2026-4897 5.5

A flaw was found in polkit. A local user can exploit this by providing a specially crafted, excessively long input to the polkit-agent-helper-1 setuid binary via standard input (stdin). This unbounded input can lead to an out-of-memory (OOM) condition, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the system.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2026-4897
CVSS 3.1
5.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-06
Show 19 moreShow less
OSVOESA-2026-1814 5.5

polkit security update

polkit is a toolkit for defining and handling authorizations. It is used for allowing unprivileged processes to speak to privileged processes.

Security Fix(es):

A flaw was found in polkit. A local user can exploit this by providing a specially crafted, excessively long input to the polkit-agent-helper-1 setuid binary via standard input (stdin). This unbounded input can lead to an out-of-memory (OOM) condition, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the system.(CVE-2026-4897)

Record
OESA-2026-1814
CVSS 3.1
5.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVRHSA-2026:59997 5.5

Red Hat Security Advisory: polkit security update

Record
RHSA-2026:59997
CVSS 3.1
5.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVRHSA-2026:66287 5.5

Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update

Record
RHSA-2026:66287
CVSS 3.1
5.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVRLSA-2026:59997 5.5

Moderate: polkit security update

The polkit packages provide a component for controlling system-wide privileges. This component provides a uniform and organized way for non-privileged processes to communicate with privileged ones.

Security Fix(es):

  • polkit: Polkit: Denial of Service via unbounded input processing through standard input (CVE-2026-4897)

For more details about the security issue(s), including the impact, a CVSS score, acknowledgments, and other related information, refer to the CVE page(s) listed in the References section.

Record
RLSA-2026:59997
CVSS 3.1
5.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2026-4897 5.5

A flaw was found in polkit. A local user can exploit this by providing a specially crafted, excessively long input to the polkit-agent-helper-1 setuid binary via standard input (stdin). This unbounded input can lead to an out-of-memory (OOM) condition, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the system.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2026-4897
CVSS 3.1
5.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVALSA-2026:59997 No score

Moderate: polkit security update

The polkit packages provide a component for controlling system-wide privileges. This component provides a uniform and organized way for non-privileged processes to communicate with privileged ones.

Security Fix(es):

  • polkit: Polkit: Denial of Service via unbounded input processing through standard input (CVE-2026-4897)

For more details about the security issue(s), including the impact, a CVSS score, acknowledgments, and other related information, refer to the CVE page(s) listed in the References section.

Record
ALSA-2026:59997
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVAZL-81558 No score

CVE-2026-4897 affecting package polkit for versions less than 123-4

A flaw was found in polkit. A local user can exploit this by providing a specially crafted, excessively long input to the polkit-agent-helper-1 setuid binary via standard input (stdin). This unbounded input can lead to an out-of-memory (OOM) condition, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the system.

Record
AZL-81558
Updated
2026-11-05
OSVCLSA-2026-1779368297 No score

polkit: Fix of CVE-2026-4897

  • CVE-2026-4897: Fix unbounded stdin reads that allow local user to trigger OOM and DoS in setuid helper; add input length checks and limit allocations.
Record
CLSA-2026-1779368297
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2026-0085 No score

Updated polkit-122 packages fix security vulnerability

Denial of service via unbounded input processing through standard input. (CVE-2026-4897)

Record
MGASA-2026-0085
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2026:10453-1 No score

libpolkit-agent-1-0-127-3.1 on GA media

These are all security issues fixed in the libpolkit-agent-1-0-127-3.1 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.

Record
openSUSE-SU-2026:10453-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2026:20925-1 No score

Security update for polkit

This update for polkit fixes the following issue:

  • CVE-2026-4897: Fixed possible OOM condition via specially crafted input to polkit-agent-helper-1 (bsc#1260859).
Record
openSUSE-SU-2026:20925-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2026:1424-1 No score

Security update for polkit

This update for polkit fixes the following issue:

  • CVE-2026-4897: Fixed possible OOM condition via specially crafted input to polkit-agent-helper-1 (bsc#1260859).
Record
SUSE-SU-2026:1424-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2026:1425-1 No score

Security update for polkit

This update for polkit fixes the following issue:

  • CVE-2026-4897: Fixed possible OOM condition via specially crafted input to polkit-agent-helper-1 (bsc#1260859).
Record
SUSE-SU-2026:1425-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2026:1655-1 No score

Security update for polkit

This update for polkit fixes the following issue:

  • CVE-2026-4897: Fixed possible OOM condition via specially crafted input to polkit-agent-helper-1 (bsc#1260859).
Record
SUSE-SU-2026:1655-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2026:20969-1 No score

Security update for polkit

This update for polkit fixes the following issue:

  • CVE-2026-4897: Fixed possible OOM condition via specially crafted input to polkit-agent-helper-1 (bsc#1260859).
Record
SUSE-SU-2026:20969-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2026:21032-1 No score

Security update for polkit

This update for polkit fixes the following issue:

  • CVE-2026-4897: Fixed possible OOM condition via specially crafted input to polkit-agent-helper-1 (bsc#1260859).
Record
SUSE-SU-2026:21032-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2026:22054-1 No score

Security update for polkit

This update for polkit fixes the following issue:

  • CVE-2026-4897: Fixed possible OOM condition via specially crafted input to polkit-agent-helper-1 (bsc#1260859).
Record
SUSE-SU-2026:22054-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2026:22090-1 No score

Security update for polkit

This update for polkit fixes the following issue:

  • CVE-2026-4897: Fixed possible OOM condition via specially crafted input to polkit-agent-helper-1 (bsc#1260859).
Record
SUSE-SU-2026:22090-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUSN-8173-1 No score

policykit-1 vulnerabilities

It was discovered that polkit incorrectly handled nested elements in XML policy files. If an administrator were tricked into installing a malicious policy file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause polkit to crash, resulting in a denial of service. (CVE-2025-7519)

Pavel Kohout discovered that the polkit polkit-agent-helper-1 utility incorrectly handled long input. A local attacker could possibly use this issue to cause polkit to crash, resulting in a denial of service. (CVE-2026-4897)

Record
USN-8173-1
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
polkit
AlmaLinux:10
 before 125-4.el10_2.1
125-4.el10_2.1
polkit-devel
AlmaLinux:10
 before 125-4.el10_2.1
125-4.el10_2.1
polkit-docs
AlmaLinux:10
 before 125-4.el10_2.1
125-4.el10_2.1
polkit-libs
AlmaLinux:10
 before 125-4.el10_2.1
125-4.el10_2.1
polkit
Azure Linux:3
 before 123-4
123-4
polkit
Alpaquita:23
 122-r1 up to 122-r2
122-r2
polkit
Alpaquita:25
 126-r0 up to 126-r1
126-r1
polkit
Alpaquita:stream
 122-r5 up to 128-r0
128-r0
polkit
TuxCare:AlmaLinux:9.6
 before 0.117-13.el9_6.tuxcare.els1
0.117-13.el9_6.tuxcare.els1
polkit-devel
TuxCare:AlmaLinux:9.6
 before 0.117-13.el9_6.tuxcare.els1
0.117-13.el9_6.tuxcare.els1
Show 46 moreShow less
Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
polkit-docs
TuxCare:AlmaLinux:9.6
 before 0.117-13.el9_6.tuxcare.els1
0.117-13.el9_6.tuxcare.els1
polkit-libs
TuxCare:AlmaLinux:9.6
 before 0.117-13.el9_6.tuxcare.els1
0.117-13.el9_6.tuxcare.els1
policykit-1
Debian:12
 All versions, plus listed versions
122-3122-4123-1123-2123-3
Show 11 moreShow less
124-1124-2124-3125-1125-2126-1126-2127-1127-2127-3128-1
 None known
policykit-1
Debian:13
 All versions, plus listed versions
126-2127-1127-2127-3128-1
 None known
policykit-1
Debian:14
 before 127-3, plus listed versions
126-2127-1127-2
127-3
polkit
Mageia:9
 before 122-2.1.mga9
122-2.1.mga9
polkit
openEuler:24.03-LTS-SP3
 before 123-4.oe2403sp3
123-4.oe2403sp3
polkit
openEuler:20.03-LTS-SP4
 before 0.116-12.oe2003sp4
0.116-12.oe2003sp4
polkit
openEuler:22.03-LTS-SP4
 before 0.120-12.oe2203sp4
0.120-12.oe2203sp4
polkit
openEuler:24.03-LTS
 before 123-4.oe2403sp2
123-4.oe2403sp2
polkit
openEuler:24.03-LTS-SP1
 before 123-4.oe2403sp1
123-4.oe2403sp1
polkit
openEuler:24.03-LTS-SP2
 before 123-4.oe2403sp2
123-4.oe2403sp2
polkit-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2
 before 0:125-4.el10_2.1
0:125-4.el10_2.1
polkit-debugsource
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2
 before 0:125-4.el10_2.1
0:125-4.el10_2.1
polkit-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2
 before 0:125-4.el10_2.1
0:125-4.el10_2.1
polkit-docs
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2
 before 0:125-4.el10_2.1
0:125-4.el10_2.1
polkit-libs-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2
 before 0:125-4.el10_2.1
0:125-4.el10_2.1
polkit
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2
 before 0:125-4.el10_2.1
0:125-4.el10_2.1
polkit-libs
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2
 before 0:125-4.el10_2.1
0:125-4.el10_2.1
polkit
Red Hat:hummingbird:1
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
 before 0:127-5.1.hum1
0:127-5.1.hum1
polkit-devel
Red Hat:hummingbird:1
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
 before 0:127-5.1.hum1
0:127-5.1.hum1
polkit-docs
Red Hat:hummingbird:1
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
 before 0:127-5.1.hum1
0:127-5.1.hum1
polkit-libs
Red Hat:hummingbird:1
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
 before 0:127-5.1.hum1
0:127-5.1.hum1
polkit
Rocky Linux:10
 before 0:125-4.el10_2.1
0:125-4.el10_2.1
polkit
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5
 before 121-150500.3.11.1
121-150500.3.11.1
polkit
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7
 before 121-150500.3.11.1
121-150500.3.11.1
polkit
openSUSE:Leap 15.6
 before 121-150500.3.11.1
121-150500.3.11.1
polkit
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5
 before 0.113-5.35.1
0.113-5.35.1
expat
SUSE:Linux Micro 6.2
 before 2.7.1-160000.5.1
2.7.1-160000.5.1
polkit
SUSE:Linux Micro 6.0
 before 121-4.1
121-4.1
polkit
SUSE:Linux Micro 6.1
 before 121-slfo.1.1_3.1
121-slfo.1.1_3.1
polkit
SUSE:Linux Micro 6.2
 before 123-160000.3.1
123-160000.3.1
polkit
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 16.0
 before 123-160000.3.1
123-160000.3.1
polkit
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0
 before 123-160000.3.1
123-160000.3.1
policykit-1
Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
0.105-3ubuntu30.105-4ubuntu10.105-4ubuntu20.105-4ubuntu2.14.04.10.105-4ubuntu3.14.04.1
Show 4 moreShow less
0.105-4ubuntu3.14.04.20.105-4ubuntu3.14.04.50.105-4ubuntu3.14.04.60.105-4ubuntu3.14.04.6+esm1
 None known
policykit-1
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
0.105-11ubuntu20.105-130.105-13ubuntu10.105-140.105-14.1
Show 4 moreShow less
0.105-14.1ubuntu0.10.105-14.1ubuntu0.40.105-14.1ubuntu0.50.105-14.1ubuntu0.5+esm1
 None known
policykit-1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
0.105-180.105-200.105-20ubuntu0.18.04.10.105-20ubuntu0.18.04.40.105-20ubuntu0.18.04.50.105-20ubuntu0.18.04.6
 None known
policykit-1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
0.105-26ubuntu10.105-26ubuntu1.10.105-26ubuntu1.20.105-26ubuntu1.3
 None known
policykit-1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS
 before 0.105-33ubuntu0.1, plus listed versions
0.105-310.105-31ubuntu10.105-31.10.105-320.105-33
0.105-33ubuntu0.1
policykit-1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS
 before 124-2ubuntu1.24.04.3, plus listed versions
123-1123-3124-1124-1ubuntu1124-2ubuntu1124-2ubuntu1.24.04.2
124-2ubuntu1.24.04.3
policykit-1
Ubuntu:25.10
 before 126-2ubuntu0.1, plus listed versions
126-2
126-2ubuntu0.1
policykit-1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
 before 0.105-33ubuntu0.1, plus listed versions
0.105-310.105-31ubuntu10.105-31.10.105-320.105-33
0.105-33ubuntu0.1
policykit-1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
 before 124-2ubuntu1.24.04.3, plus listed versions
123-1123-3124-1124-1ubuntu1124-2ubuntu1124-2ubuntu1.24.04.2
124-2ubuntu1.24.04.3
policykit-1
Ubuntu:25.10
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
 before 126-2ubuntu0.1, plus listed versions
126-2
126-2ubuntu0.1
polkit
openSUSE:Tumbleweed
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
 before 127-3.1
127-3.1
polkit
openSUSE:Leap 16.0
 before 123-160000.3.1
123-160000.3.1

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
affectedOSV
affectedCVE List, EUVD, NVD
factsOSV
first indexedCVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2026-4897 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.5) in Freedesktop Polkit, published March 26, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.16%, the 4th percentile. Fixed in polkit 125-4.el10_2.1.

References

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