CVE-2026-46040

MEDIUMNVD 5.55.5
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

Score 5.5 from GitHub Security Advisory published 2026-05-27. NVD baseline CVSS 5.5; sources differ by 0.0.

Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: epss, ghsa, nvd
Trending — 4 sources updated this week
5.5
EchelonGraph verdictMonitorLow exploitation likelihood right now — keep watching.
  • Lower severity and no public exploit yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS: 0%CVSS: 5.5Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

A fix is available — apply it.

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 v3
5.5
EG Score
5.5(medium)
EPSS
2.4%
KEV
Not listed

Published

May 27, 2026

Last Modified

June 16, 2026

Advisory Details (8)

Auto-updated Jun 16, 2026
No patch confirmed yet.
generic

inotify: fix watch count leak when fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fdaa42ca370d056428e5e171247c8fdce8dff36a
generic

inotify: fix watch count leak when fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9e48844f708eb48bae4e79cb21edc097c966306d
generic

inotify: fix watch count leak when fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8bcc1cd237ab5ccfdd102869fa031c541943cf40
generic

inotify: fix watch count leak when fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/73ddc8518a32baff6bc17afda4ee1ebae5b4ed12
generic

inotify: fix watch count leak when fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6a320935fa4293e9e599ec9f85dc9eb3be7029f8
generic

inotify: fix watch count leak when fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3ad9ccea1b25435f6179b57aa891960beb7ce8f9
generic

inotify: fix watch count leak when fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3ab58cf42c46bf2366d2f55ae5c59299d5e178b7
generic

inotify: fix watch count leak when fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/10edf7e0ffdc7faa18e2244b17722c1b882b8273

Vendor Advisories for CVE-2026-46040(2)

These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.

Patch Availability(4)

Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.

Additional Vendor Advisories

(4)

Vendors that published advisories for this CVE beyond the curated set above. Broader coverage but minimal per-row detail — click through for the original advisory.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 10× in last 7d / 64× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 105 total refreshes for this CVE.

  1. 2026-07-15 16:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-07-15 02:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-07-13 22:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-07-13 06:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-07-12 05:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-07-11 23:49 UTCEG score recompute
  7. 2026-07-11 23:49 UTCVendor advisory
  8. 2026-07-11 23:49 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-07-11 08:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-07-09 19:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-07-08 23:57 UTCEG score recompute
  12. 2026-07-08 23:57 UTCVendor advisory
  13. 2026-07-08 23:57 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-07-08 15:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-07-07 13:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-07-06 16:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-07-06 02:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-07-05 02:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-07-04 06:31 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-07-01 15:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-07-01 10:17 UTCEG score recompute
  22. 2026-07-01 10:17 UTCVendor advisory
  23. 2026-07-01 10:17 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-06-30 23:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-29 14:21 UTCEG score recompute
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-06-29 14:21 UTCVendor advisory
  2. 2026-06-29 14:21 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-06-29 14:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-06-29 14:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-06-28 14:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-06-28 07:26 UTCEG score recompute
  7. 2026-06-28 07:26 UTCVendor advisory
  8. 2026-06-28 07:26 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-06-28 04:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-06-28 04:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-06-27 05:58 UTCEG score recompute
  12. 2026-06-27 05:58 UTCVendor advisory
  13. 2026-06-27 05:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-06-27 03:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-06-26 02:32 UTCEG score recompute
  16. 2026-06-26 02:32 UTCVendor advisory
  17. 2026-06-26 02:32 UTCGHSA enrichment
  18. 2026-06-25 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-06-25 01:16 UTCEG score recompute
  20. 2026-06-25 01:16 UTCVendor advisory
  21. 2026-06-25 01:16 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-06-24 14:05 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-06-23 21:33 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-06-23 21:33 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-22 14:25 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-06-22 14:25 UTCEPSS rescore
  27. 2026-06-21 14:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  28. 2026-06-21 14:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  29. 2026-06-21 01:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  30. 2026-06-21 01:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  31. 2026-06-19 19:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  32. 2026-06-19 19:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  33. 2026-06-18 17:52 UTCEPSS rescore
  34. 2026-06-18 17:52 UTCEPSS rescore
  35. 2026-06-18 02:59 UTCEG score recompute 5.50
  36. 2026-06-18 02:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  37. 2026-06-17 17:53 UTCEPSS rescore
  38. 2026-06-16 17:52 UTCEPSS rescore
  39. 2026-06-16 15:47 UTCNVD updateCVSS v3 → 5.5 · severity → MEDIUM
  40. 2026-06-15 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  41. 2026-06-15 06:44 UTCVendor advisory
  42. 2026-06-15 06:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  43. 2026-06-14 23:28 UTCMITRE cvelistV5
  44. 2026-06-13 23:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  45. 2026-06-12 23:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  46. 2026-06-12 23:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  47. 2026-06-12 10:30 UTCVendor advisory
  48. 2026-06-12 10:30 UTCGHSA enrichment
  49. 2026-06-11 14:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  50. 2026-06-10 22:18 UTCEPSS rescore
  51. 2026-06-10 13:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  52. 2026-06-10 13:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  53. 2026-06-09 14:17 UTCGHSA enrichment
  54. 2026-06-08 14:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  55. 2026-06-08 14:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  56. 2026-06-07 15:25 UTCEPSS rescore
  57. 2026-06-07 15:25 UTCEPSS rescore
  58. 2026-06-06 18:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  59. 2026-06-06 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  60. 2026-06-06 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  61. 2026-06-05 22:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  62. 2026-06-05 06:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  63. 2026-06-05 06:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  64. 2026-06-04 13:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  65. 2026-06-04 13:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  66. 2026-06-03 21:49 UTCGHSA enrichment
  67. 2026-06-02 20:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  68. 2026-06-01 13:52 UTCEPSS rescore
  69. 2026-06-01 13:52 UTCEPSS rescore
  70. 2026-06-01 01:34 UTCEG score recompute
  71. 2026-06-01 01:34 UTCGHSA enrichment
  72. 2026-05-31 22:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  73. 2026-05-31 22:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  74. 2026-05-31 00:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  75. 2026-05-31 00:16 UTCEPSS rescore

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2026-46040?
CVE-2026-46040 is a medium vulnerability published on May 27, 2026. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: inotify: fix watch count leak when fsnotifyaddinodemarklocked() fails When fsnotifyaddinodemarklocked() fails in inotifynewwatch(), the error path calls inotifyremovefrom_idr() but does not call decinotifywatches() to undo the…
When was CVE-2026-46040 disclosed?
CVE-2026-46040 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on May 27, 2026, with the most recent update on June 16, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2026-46040 actively exploited?
CVE-2026-46040 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 2.4% percentile likelihood of exploitation in the next 30 days — higher percentiles indicate greater predicted risk.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-46040?
CVE-2026-46040 has a CVSS v3 base score of 5.5 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2026-46040?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2026-46040, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

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