CVE-2026-88252
Sssd: sssd: denial of service via responder connection retry loop during file descriptor exhaustion
What happened?
A flaw was found in sssd. A local user can cause a Denial of Service (DoS) by exhausting the responder service's available file descriptors (system handles used for open connections). By opening and maintaining many concurrent connections to a responder socket while continuing to queue new connection attempts, an attacker can trigger an unthrottled retry loop. This condition leads to high CPU utilization and stalls the service, preventing legitimate identity and authentication requests from being processed.
Affected software and versions
| Software | Version information | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| sssdRed Hat | Default status: affected | See vendor advisory |
| sssdRed Hat | Default status: unknown | See vendor advisory |
| sssdRed Hat | Default status: affected | See vendor advisory |
| sssdRed Hat | Default status: affected | See vendor advisory |
| sssdRed Hat | Default status: affected | See vendor advisory |
| openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-8Red Hat | Default status: affected | See vendor advisory |
| openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9Red Hat | Default status: affected | See vendor advisory |
| openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9Red Hat | Default status: affected | See vendor advisory |
Version information comes from the source record and can include unaffected products and exceptions. Distribution packages may contain backported fixes: an older upstream version alone does not prove a server is affected.
Is it being exploited?
This CVE was not listed in the CISA catalogue at our last retrieval. This does not establish that exploitation is absent.
How to respond
- Confirm the product, installed package version, and any configuration requirements in the vendor advisory.
- Follow the vendor’s remediation or workaround guidance in the references below. Structured fixed-version data is unavailable here; the publisher’s description may include a fix or workaround.
- Restart affected services if required, then verify the running version. Known exploitation may warrant investigation as well as patching.