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CVE-2026-85498 is a regression in the fix for CVE-2026-4897 affecting polkit's setuid polkit-agent-helper-1 helper. The read_cookie() function incorrectly handles an empty cookie read from standard input: its string-length calculation underflows, causing a one-byte out-of-bounds read from a stack buffer. This condition can crash polkit and may permit arbitrary code execution with administrator privileges.
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A high-severity local vulnerability affecting Ubuntu PolicyKit (polkit) components. It has a CVSS v3 vector of AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, indicating local exploitation could result in complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
A medium-severity local stack buffer underflow/out-of-bounds read in polkit's polkit-agent-helper-1 setuid helper. It was introduced by a regression in the fix for CVE-2026-4897 and is triggered when an empty cookie is read from standard input.
A critical, network-reachable vulnerability affecting polkit packages on specified CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux releases. The provided CVSS vector indicates low-complexity, unauthenticated remote exploitation with no user interaction and potential complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
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Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
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