Description
A flaw was found in SSSD. A local user can cause a denial of service (DoS) by disrupting system authentication services. When handling Generic Security Services Application Programming Interface (GSSAPI) authentication in the Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) responder, cached connection state is freed upon completion without clearing the reference pointer. An attacker can exploit this by sending an additional request over the same connection, causing the service to access invalid memory and unexpectedly terminate.
Published: 2026-10-06
Score: 4.7 Medium
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
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Remediation

Vendor Workaround

A workaround is available for this issue. PAM GSSAPI authentication can be disabled in the SSSD configuration: edit /etc/sssd/sssd.conf, and in the [pam] section remove or comment out the pam_gssapi_services option (or set it to an empty value), so that no service is permitted to use GSSAPI authentication through the PAM responder. Then restart the SSSD service (systemctl restart sssd) to apply the change. Note that disabling PAM GSSAPI authentication prevents clients from authenticating to the affected PAM services using Kerberos tickets, requiring them to use alternative authentication methods such as passwords. Restarting the SSSD service also briefly disrupts ongoing authentication requests. Restarting the PAM responder can restore service after a crash, but it does not remove the underlying flaw.

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Advisories

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History

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 03:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Tue, 06 Oct 2026 21:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Redhat openshift Container Platform
Sssd
Sssd sssd
Vendors & Products Redhat openshift Container Platform
Sssd
Sssd sssd

Tue, 06 Oct 2026 12:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Moderate


Tue, 06 Oct 2026 01:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A flaw was found in SSSD. A local user can cause a denial of service (DoS) by disrupting system authentication services. When handling Generic Security Services Application Programming Interface (GSSAPI) authentication in the Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) responder, cached connection state is freed upon completion without clearing the reference pointer. An attacker can exploit this by sending an additional request over the same connection, causing the service to access invalid memory and unexpectedly terminate.
Title Sssd: sssd: denial of service via stale connection state reuse in pam gssapi responder
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat openshift
Weaknesses CWE-825
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat openshift
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 4.7, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}


Subscriptions

Redhat Enterprise Linux Openshift Openshift Container Platform
Sssd Sssd
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published:

Updated: 2026-10-16T10:57:46.726Z

Reserved: 2026-10-01T17:23:22.525Z

Link: CVE-2026-104039

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-10-08T02:40:02.273Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Undergoing Analysis

Published: 2026-10-06T02:17:03.013

Modified: 2026-10-08T03:16:33.053

Link: CVE-2026-104039

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Moderate

Publid Date: 2026-10-06T00:41:30Z

Links: CVE-2026-104039 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-10-06T20:56:12Z

Weaknesses
  • CWE-825

    Expired Pointer Dereference