CVE-2026-104041 Red Hat CVE debrief

Who should care

System administrators and security teams responsible for systems using SSSD, especially in environments with unprivileged local users, should assess exposure and prioritize patching. This includes teams managing Linux systems, identity and access management systems, and security monitoring systems. They should review vendor guidance, monitor for unusual memory usage in SSSD, and plan for patching or mitigation to prevent exploitation.

Why it matters

This vulnerability allows an unprivileged local user to cause a Denial of Service in SSSD, potentially leading to system crashes or freezes. System administrators and security teams should assess exposure and prioritize patching for systems using SSSD, especially in environments with unprivileged local users.

• Memory exhaustion leading to Denial of Service
• Potential for system crashes or freezes
• Need for patching or mitigation to prevent exploitation

Technical summary

A flaw in SSSD allows an unprivileged local user to repeatedly request lookups for nonexistent entries, causing the negative cache to grow without bound. This can lead to memory exhaustion, resulting in a Denial of Service. The vulnerability is due to the negative cache not limiting the total number of stored entries and only removing expired records when an existing key is rechecked. System administrators and security teams should assess exposure and prioritize patching for systems using SSSD, especially in environments with unprivileged local users.

Defensive priority

Assess exposure and prioritize patching for systems using SSSD, especially in environments with unprivileged local users.

Recommended defensive actions

• Assess exposure by identifying systems using SSSD
• Prioritize patching for systems with unprivileged local users
• Monitor for unusual memory usage in SSSD
• Review compensating controls for exposed systems while remediation is scheduled and verified
• Check relevant monitoring, detection, and logs for exposed assets that need extra review
• Track exceptions, retest remediated assets, and close the item only after evidence is documented
• Confirm whether affected product deployments exist in managed environments and assign an owner for follow-up

Evidence notes

The CVE record and source item provide details on the flaw and its potential impact. However, specific version information and remediation steps are not provided. Defenders should verify affected systems, review vendor guidance, and monitor for unusual memory usage in SSSD. The negative cache growth can lead to memory exhaustion, resulting in a Denial of Service. Evidence of exploitation may include system crashes or freezes, and defenders should prioritize patching or mitigation to prevent exploitation.

Sources and references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.