Vulnerability · Published Oct 29, 2026 · Assigned by redhat
CVE-2026-85498Polkit: regression in cve-2026-4897 fix (polkit read_cookie()) - stack buffer underflow
Low 3.5
In plain English
A low-severity out-of-bounds read in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 from Red Hat. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.3% (higher than 18% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
A flaw was found in polkit. When processing input that begins with a null byte, an arithmetic error in the authentication agent helper causes an integer underflow during buffer length calculation, resulting in an out-of-bounds memory read. An attacker capable of supplying crafted input can trigger this flaw, potentially causing an application crash and resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:14 | policykit-1 | 128-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-85498 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | policykit-1 | 0.105-33ubuntu0.2 | USN-8762-1 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | policykit-1 | 0.105-33ubuntu0.2 | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-85498 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | policykit-1 | 124-2ubuntu1.24.04.4 | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-85498 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | policykit-1 | 124-2ubuntu1.24.04.4 | USN-8762-1 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | policykit-1 | 127-2ubuntu1.1 | USN-8762-1 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | policykit-1 | 127-2ubuntu1.1 | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-85498 |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat | Red Hat Hardened Images | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | see references |
Weakness: CWE-125 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
References
- RHSA-2026:66287 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-85498 vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHBZ#2528347 issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT