Local kernel crash via AppArmor profile replacement
Published Sep 18, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in Linux AppArmor 6.2 through 6.6.49 and 6.7 through 6.10.8 allows local users to crash the kernel via a profile update. When aa_replace_profiles creates a missing ancestor whose old entry is NULL, aafs_create dereferences the absent AAFS_PROF_DIR parent dentry instead of returning -ENOENT. Reaching the flaw requires local access and an AppArmor profile update; the reported consequence is a kernel oops that can interrupt the host.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in Linux AppArmor 6.2 through 6.6.49 and 6.7 through 6.10.8 allows local users to crash the kernel via a profile update. When aa_replace_profiles creates a missing ancestor whose old entry is NULL, aafs_create dereferences the absent AAFS_PROF_DIR parent dentry instead of returning -ENOENT. Reaching the flaw requires local access and an AppArmor profile update; the reported consequence is a kernel oops that can interrupt the host.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-46721
- Published
- Sep 18, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 18, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=6.2
- Affected versionversion=665b1856dc2399828d8ee07a18d4fd79868e729a <3dd384108d53834002be5630132ad5c3f32166ad
- Affected versionversion=665b1856dc2399828d8ee07a18d4fd79868e729a <59f742e55a469ef36c5c1533b6095a103b61eda8
- Affected versionversion=665b1856dc2399828d8ee07a18d4fd79868e729a <c49bbe69ee152bd9c1c1f314c0f582e76c578f64
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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