CVE-2026-45848

Kernel crash via unchecked socket pointers

Published May 27, 2026 · Updated May 27, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in Linux Kernel AppArmor allows local users to crash the kernel during socket setup or teardown. aa_sock_file_perm assumes file->private_data and the referenced socket's sk member are valid, then dereferences them without checking for NULL. Reachability requires a local low-privileged user to hit the AppArmor socket-file fallback path while a socket is being initialized or destroyed; the reported consequence is an availability-only kernel oops.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.16%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in Linux Kernel AppArmor allows local users to crash the kernel during socket setup or teardown. aa_sock_file_perm assumes file->private_data and the referenced socket's sk member are valid, then dereferences them without checking for NULL. Reachability requires a local low-privileged user to hit the AppArmor socket-file fallback path while a socket is being initialized or destroyed; the reported consequence is an availability-only kernel oops.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-45848
Published
May 27, 2026
Updated
May 27, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 27, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 27, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=4.17
  2. Affected versionversion=56974a6fcfef69ee0825bd66ed13e92070ac5224 <00b67657535dfea56e84d11492f5c0f61d0af297
  3. Affected versionversion=56974a6fcfef69ee0825bd66ed13e92070ac5224 <0dc19bca22606f7a61d5988408f74e3ae0ef3486
  4. Affected versionversion=56974a6fcfef69ee0825bd66ed13e92070ac5224 <3852eb9a0392eb435c03dcb47d581bcfe6a9a95b
  5. Affected versionversion=56974a6fcfef69ee0825bd66ed13e92070ac5224 <5121b7283f1c46e4c06b88b1dda7b064429d77de
  6. Affected versionversion=56974a6fcfef69ee0825bd66ed13e92070ac5224 <68538ec34fcb4194c7961dc4eca6f5537fec8067
  7. Affected versionversion=56974a6fcfef69ee0825bd66ed13e92070ac5224 <8a0ededbfcff74598f82f1d4b8ef9db28878b317
  8. Affected versionversion=56974a6fcfef69ee0825bd66ed13e92070ac5224 <c11b7c3280d000376e27ebfed17ec7046699eab4
  9. Affected versionversion=56974a6fcfef69ee0825bd66ed13e92070ac5224 <ccb66a3c6c8f51b3ed1bc003b70bb9ff99e8d835

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=4.17; version=56974a6fcfef69ee0825bd66ed13e92070ac5224 <00b67657535dfea56e84d11492f5c0f61d0af297; version=56974a6fcfef69ee0825bd66ed13e92070ac5224 <0dc19bca22606f7a61d5988408f74e3ae0ef3486; version=56974a6fcfef69ee0825bd66ed13e92070ac5224 <3852eb9a0392eb435c03dcb47d581bcfe6a9a95b; version=56974a6fcfef69ee0825bd66ed13e92070ac5224 <5121b7283f1c46e4c06b88b1dda7b064429d77de; version=56974a6fcfef69ee0825bd66ed13e92070ac5224 <68538ec34fcb4194c7961dc4eca6f5537fec8067; version=56974a6fcfef69ee0825bd66ed13e92070ac5224 <8a0ededbfcff74598f82f1d4b8ef9db28878b317; version=56974a6fcfef69ee0825bd66ed13e92070ac5224 <c11b7c3280d000376e27ebfed17ec7046699eab4; version=56974a6fcfef69ee0825bd66ed13e92070ac5224 <ccb66a3c6c8f51b3ed1bc003b70bb9ff99e8d835

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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