CVE-2026-68742 Red Hat CVE debrief

Who should care

System administrators using SSSD, Red Hat users and administrators, security teams responsible for vulnerability management, and operators of affected platforms should be aware of this vulnerability and take necessary actions to mitigate the risk. This includes reviewing and applying patches, monitoring for abnormal behavior, and implementing compensating controls where necessary.

Technical summary

The sss_nss_protocol_parse_addr() function in SSSD's NSS responder fails to validate the addrlen field against the remaining packet body size. A local attacker can exploit this by sending a crafted GETHOSTBYADDR request to the NSS responder socket, leading to an out-of-bounds read and process crash, resulting in a denial of service. This issue affects SSSD deployments, particularly those using Red Hat products.

Defensive priority

Medium priority due to local attack vector and potential for denial of service

Recommended defensive actions

• Review and apply patches from Red Hat
• Monitor SSSD services for abnormal behavior
• Restrict access to NSS responder socket
• Perform vulnerability assessment to identify potentially affected systems
• Implement compensating controls for exposed systems
• Track exceptions and retest remediated assets
• Review relevant monitoring, detection, and logs for exposed assets

Evidence notes

Evidence from Red Hat and NVD suggests a potential denial of service vulnerability in SSSD, with a local attack vector. Further analysis is required to fully understand the impact and affected scope. Defenders should verify SSSD deployments, review Red Hat advisories, and monitor for abnormal behavior.

Official resources