CVE-2026-46040
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BaseFortify
Publication date: 2026-05-27
Last updated on: 2026-05-27
Assigner: kernel.org
Description
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
inotify: fix watch count leak when fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails
When fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails in inotify_new_watch(),
the error path calls inotify_remove_from_idr() but does not call
dec_inotify_watches() to undo the preceding inc_inotify_watches().
This leaks a watch count, and repeated failures can exhaust the
max_user_watches limit with -ENOSPC even when no watches are active.
Prior to commit 1cce1eea0aff ("inotify: Convert to using per-namespace
limits"), the watch count was incremented after fsnotify_add_mark_locked()
succeeded, so this path was not affected. The conversion moved
inc_inotify_watches() before the mark insertion without adding the
corresponding rollback.
Add the missing dec_inotify_watches() call in the error path.
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | to 1cce1eea0aff (exc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-UNKNOWN |
Attack-Flow Graph
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