CVE-2026-4897: A flaw was found in polkit

Routine

MEDIUM 5.5WATCHLISTMITIGATEDOWNGRADEMITIGATE

CVE-2026-4897 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 5.5) affecting polkit, openshift container platform, enterprise linux. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

A flaw was found in polkit. A local user can exploit this by providing a specially crafted, excessively long input to the `polkit-agent-helper-1` setuid binary via standard input (stdin). This unbounded input can lead to an out-of-memory (OOM) condition, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the system.

Why this priority

On your watchlist

No fix is published yet: follow the downgrade or mitigation steps.

Risk facts

CVSS score	5.5 (Medium)
Attack vector	Local
Attack complexity	Low
Privileges needed	Low
User interaction	None
EPSS exploit chance	0.2% (top 95%)
CISA exploited list	No
Weakness	CWE-770
Published	2026-03-26
Last modified	2026-09-10

Publisher (CNA): Red Hat, Inc. · Vendor: freedesktop · redhat

Last updated 2026-09-10 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2026-03-26 15:16 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-09-10 18:18 UTCUpdated Record last modified

freedesktop polkit MITIGATE

Affected: all versions

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: no unaffected older release

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy polkit || rpm -q polkit || polkit --version

No fixed or unaffected release known

Apply the vendor mitigation from the advisory, disable the affected feature, or restrict network access.

redhat openshift container platform DOWNGRADE

Affected: 4.0

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 4.0

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy openshift-container-platform || rpm -q openshift-container-platform || openshift-container-platform --version

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 4.0 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison openshift-container-platform sudo apt install openshift-container-platform=<VERSION_BEFORE_4.0> sudo apt-mark hold openshift-container-platform

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list openshift-container-platform sudo dnf downgrade openshift-container-platform-<VERSION_BEFORE_4.0> sudo dnf versionlock add openshift-container-platform

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

redhat enterprise linux MITIGATE

Affected: 6.0 · 7.0 · 8.0 · 9.0 · 10.0

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 6.0

Check your OS release

cat /etc/os-release; uname -r

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Windows

Install the latest cumulative update from Windows Update

If no patch exists yet

OS downgrades are not safe. Apply the vendor mitigation from the advisory and restrict exposure.

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2026-4897?

polkit: mitigate or apply the listed mitigation; openshift container platform: downgrade or apply the listed mitigation; enterprise linux: mitigate or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2026-4897 being exploited?

CVE-2026-4897 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

What does CVE-2026-4897 affect?

CVE-2026-4897 affects polkit, openshift container platform, enterprise linux. Severity is medium (CVSS 5.5). A flaw was found in polkit. A local user can exploit this by providing a specially crafted, excessively long input to the `polkit-agent-helper-1` setuid binary via standard input (stdin). This unbounded input can lead to an out-of-memory (O

How urgent is CVE-2026-4897?

Priority 25/100. On your watchlist

Software pages

Red Hat OpenShift vulnerabilities

References

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