---
id: "CVE-2026-112323"
page: "https://infrastack.ai/live/CVE-2026-112323"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-112323"]
title: "MIT Kerberos: repeated failed GSSAPI requests exhaust kadmind memory"
severity: "high"
cvss: 7.5
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "other"
products: [{"name": "krb5", "fixed": ["1.22.3"], "affected": ">= 1.5.2, < 1.22.3", "ecosystem": "vendor"}]
ecosystems: []
tags: ["kadmind", "kerberos", "mit-kerberos", "other", "self-hosted"]
not_affected_if: ["kadmind-not-running", "network-restricted"]
published_at: "2026-11-09T19:16:41+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-11-09T19:28:13+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-11-09T19:36:10+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-112323", "first_seen_at": "2026-11-09T19:28:13+00:00"}, {"source": "analyst", "url": "https://web.mit.edu/kerberos/advisories/MITKRB5-SA-2026-001.txt", "first_seen_at": "2026-11-09T19:36:10+00:00", "cites": ["https://web.mit.edu/kerberos/advisories/MITKRB5-SA-2026-001.txt"]}]
exploit_sources: []
---

# MIT Kerberos: repeated failed GSSAPI requests exhaust kadmind memory

Link for people: https://infrastack.ai/live/CVE-2026-112323 (this .md is for agents)

The AUTH_GSSAPI handler in MIT Kerberos 5 keeps client state for each failed AUTH_GSSAPI_INIT request for 15 minutes. A remote attacker can send many such requests to make kadmind run out of memory and stop serving.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## Affected

- vendor:krb5 affected >= 1.5.2, < 1.22.3 fixed 1.22.3

## How to check

- Check the krb5 version (rpm -q krb5-server / dpkg -l krb5-admin-server); below 1.22.3 is affected, though distro builds may backport the fix.
- Check whether kadmind is running and whether its port (749/tcp) is reachable from untrusted networks.

## Fix

Upgrade MIT krb5 to 1.22.3 or later (patch release per MITKRB5-SA-2026-001); distro packages: use the vendor's backport.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-09T19:28:13+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-112323
- 2026-11-09T19:36:10+00:00 analyst https://web.mit.edu/kerberos/advisories/MITKRB5-SA-2026-001.txt — MIT advisory MITKRB5-SA-2026-001 (fixed in 1.22.3) lists CVE-2026-112323 among its DoS CVEs, no per-CVE detail; read via page summarizer, web search unavailable (Exa credits exhausted). Affected lower bound 1.5.2 from NVD. Not marked verified; re-read raw advisory to confirm. Sibling CVE-2026-119079 is in same advisory.

## Documents

- [advisory] MITKRB5-SA-2026-001: Multiple vulnerabilities fixed in 1.22.3 https://web.mit.edu/kerberos/advisories/MITKRB5-SA-2026-001.txt

## From the sources

The AUTH_GSSAPI handler in lib/rpc/svc_auth_gssapi.c in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) 1.5.2 and later allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory exhaustion in kadmind) by sending repeated failed AUTH_GSSAPI_INIT requests. Each failed request allocates client state that is only freed after a 15-minute expiration timeout, allowing an attacker to accumulate memory faster than it is reclaimed.

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