Red Hat build of Keycloak 26.4: Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
CVE-2026-18212 is a high-severity missing release of memory after effective lifetime vulnerability in Red Hat build of Keycloak 26.4 from Red Hat, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.7% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 54% of scored CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Check which version of Red Hat build of Keycloak 26.4 you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat | Red Hat build of Keycloak 26.4 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat build of Keycloak 26.4.16 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat build of Keycloak 26.6 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat build of Keycloak 26.6.7 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Data Grid 8 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform Expansion Pack | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Single Sign-On 7 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- NoneNo data is disclosed.
- Integrity
- NoneNothing can be modified.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. Scored by CNA (redhat.com).
Official description
A flaw was found in the SAML Redirect Binding implementation of Keycloak, an open-source identity and access management solution. The issue occurs because the custom DEFLATE compression and decompression helpers fail to release native zlib memory after use. An unauthenticated attacker can exploit this by sending repeated malformed SAML requests, leading to native memory exhaustion and a denial of service.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, making the memory unavailable for reallocation and reuse.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Choose a language or tool that provides automatic memory management, or makes manual memory management less error-prone. For example, glibc in Linux provides protection against free of invalid pointers. When using Xcode to target OS X or iOS, enable automatic reference counting (ARC). To help correctly and consistently manage memory when programming in C++, consider using a smart pointer class such as std
- Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
- Consider using the Boehm-Demers-Weiser garbage collector (bdwgc), which can help avoid leaks.
More Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime vulnerabilities (CWE-401)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
References
Other references
Other vulnerabilities in Red Hat build of Keycloak 26.4
- 7.1 High severity
- 8.0 High severity
- 7.4 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 7.4 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
Recent Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime vulnerabilities
- 7.4 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
Spotted an error? Tell us.