{"cve":"CVE-2026-46040","nvd":{"published":"2026-05-27T14:17:23.387","modified":"2026-10-15T02:19:39.850","status":"Modified","description":"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 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.","cvss_v4":null,"cvss_v3":{"version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","score":5.5},"cwes":[],"references":["https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/10edf7e0ffdc7faa18e2244b17722c1b882b8273","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3ab58cf42c46bf2366d2f55ae5c59299d5e178b7","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3ad9ccea1b25435f6179b57aa891960beb7ce8f9","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6a320935fa4293e9e599ec9f85dc9eb3be7029f8","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/73ddc8518a32baff6bc17afda4ee1ebae5b4ed12"],"products":["linux:linux_kernel"],"source":"nvd","synced_at":"2026-10-19T22:36:28.938604137+00:00"},"epss":{"cve":"CVE-2026-46040","score":0.00129,"percentile":0.02492,"date":"2026-10-25"},"kev":null,"osv":[],"attribution":["This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.","EPSS scores: FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System, https://www.first.org/epss","Known exploited vulnerabilities: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","Package advisories: OSV (https://osv.dev), from the GitHub Advisory Database, PyPA, Go, RustSec and other ecosystem databases, under CC-BY 4.0 or CC0","CVE records: the CVE Program's CVE List (https://www.cve.org), under its terms of use (https://www.cve.org/Legal/TermsOfUse). CVE is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation; this product is not affiliated with the CVE Program."]}