CVE-2026-45966

Local kernel crash via unchecked socket pointers

Published May 27, 2026 · Updated May 27, 2026

Denial of service in Linux Kernel 6.17 through 6.18.13 and 6.19 through 6.19.3 allows local users to crash the kernel via SCM_RIGHTS. AppArmor's __unix_needs_revalidation function reads sock->sk->sk_family without first checking whether sock or sock->sk is NULL during socket setup or teardown. Receiving an SCM_RIGHTS descriptor during that lifecycle window reaches the NULL dereference and interrupts the host; no confidentiality or integrity impact is reported.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.12%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in Linux Kernel 6.17 through 6.18.13 and 6.19 through 6.19.3 allows local users to crash the kernel via SCM_RIGHTS. AppArmor's __unix_needs_revalidation function reads sock->sk->sk_family without first checking whether sock or sock->sk is NULL during socket setup or teardown. Receiving an SCM_RIGHTS descriptor during that lifecycle window reaches the NULL dereference and interrupts the host; no confidentiality or integrity impact is reported.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-45966
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=6.17
  2. Affected versionversion=88fec3526e84123997ecebd6bb6778eb4ce779b7 <e2938ad00b21340c0362562dfedd7cfec0554d67
  3. Affected versionversion=88fec3526e84123997ecebd6bb6778eb4ce779b7 <e85bc9101afc4202aa2269967ce9d3ffbecd0994
  4. Affected versionversion=88fec3526e84123997ecebd6bb6778eb4ce779b7 <fea017a7f6abe179decf575a2d8464c74edb3964

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=6.17; version=88fec3526e84123997ecebd6bb6778eb4ce779b7 <e2938ad00b21340c0362562dfedd7cfec0554d67; version=88fec3526e84123997ecebd6bb6778eb4ce779b7 <e85bc9101afc4202aa2269967ce9d3ffbecd0994; version=88fec3526e84123997ecebd6bb6778eb4ce779b7 <fea017a7f6abe179decf575a2d8464c74edb3964

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS: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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 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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