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    CVE-2026-46040

    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.

    Published:May 27, 2026
    Last Modified:Sep 8, 2026
    EPS:May 27, 2026
    EPSS Score:0.00123
    CVSS Score:5.5

    Affected Products

    Vendor
    Linux
    Product
    Linux Kernel

    Exploits

    No exploit reference

    Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

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