CVE-2026-97686 VxWorks 7 Memory Resource leak

Medium 5.5 Published Updated

Attackers can cause kernel memory and file descriptor leaks in VxWorks 7, leading to resource exhaustion and denial of service.

Exploited in the wild
Not known
Login needed
Any signed-in user
Attackable
Local or same network only
Victim action needed
Not needed
Fix
None listed

What is CVE-2026-97686?

CVE-2026-97686 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Wind River VxWorks 7, published on 28 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

Wind River VxWorks 7 prior to 26.09, specific system call arguments can result in the IPNET subsystem failing to properly release allocated kernel memory and system file descriptors before terminating the calling application. Fixed in Version 26.09.

Weakness: CWE-772

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97686?

How do I fix CVE-2026-97686?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-97686 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.

Is CVE-2026-97686 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97686 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Sources

Also known as GHSA-j8ph-g6vq-c5h6.

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