{"id":"CVE-2026-46040","title":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\ninotify: fix watch count leak when fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails\n\nWhen fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails in inotify_new_watch(),\nthe error path calls inot…","summary":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\ninotify: fix watch count leak when fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails\n\nWhen fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails in inotify_new_watch(),\nthe error path calls inot…","severity":"medium","cvss":5.5,"cvssVector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","vendor":"linux","product":"linux_kernel","affected":["linux_kernel >= 4.11, < 5.10.258","linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.209","linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.175","linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.140","linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.86","linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.18.27","linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 7.0.4"],"patched":["linux_kernel 7.0.4"],"published":"2026-05-27","updated":"2026-09-08","sourceUpdated":"2026-09-08T09:18:07.063","source":"NVD","sourceUrl":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46040","references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/10edf7e0ffdc7faa18e2244b17722c1b882b8273","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3ab58cf42c46bf2366d2f55ae5c59299d5e178b7","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3ad9ccea1b25435f6179b57aa891960beb7ce8f9","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6a320935fa4293e9e599ec9f85dc9eb3be7029f8","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/73ddc8518a32baff6bc17afda4ee1ebae5b4ed12","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8bcc1cd237ab5ccfdd102869fa031c541943cf40","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9e48844f708eb48bae4e79cb21edc097c966306d","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fdaa42ca370d056428e5e171247c8fdce8dff36a","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-019113.html","label":"0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e"}],"tags":["nvd","cve.org"],"epss":0.00166,"epssPercentile":0.05162,"ingestedAt":"2026-09-08T13:33:24.347Z","slug":"CVE-2026-46040","body":"## Overview\n\nIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\ninotify: fix watch count leak when fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails\n\nWhen fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails in inotify_new_watch(),\nthe error path calls inotify_remove_from_idr() but does not call\ndec_inotify_watches() to undo the preceding inc_inotify_watches().\nThis leaks a watch count, and repeated failures can exhaust the\nmax_user_watches limit with -ENOSPC even when no watches are active.\n\nPrior to commit 1cce1eea0aff (\"inotify: Convert to using per-namespace\nlimits\"), the watch count was incremented after fsnotify_add_mark_locked()\nsucceeded, so this path was not affected. The conversion moved\ninc_inotify_watches() before the mark insertion without adding the\ncorresponding rollback.\n\nAdd the missing dec_inotify_watches() call in the error path.\n\n## Affected\n\n- `linux_kernel >= 4.11, < 5.10.258`\n- `linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.209`\n- `linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.175`\n- `linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.140`\n- `linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.86`\n- `linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.18.27`\n- `linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 7.0.4`\n\n## Remediation\n\nUpgrade past the affected range:\n\n- `linux_kernel 7.0.4`","depth":"sunlit","depthScore":30,"depthScoreParts":{"impact":30.3,"likelihood":0,"exploitation":0,"ransomware":0},"changes":[]}