CVE-2026-72456

Local service interruption via leaked path references

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Resource leak in AppArmor in affected Linux kernel revisions allows local users to exhaust resources and interrupt system availability. The get_current_exe_path() function acquires executable-file and path references, then returns when aa_path_name() fails without calling fput() or path_put(). Low-privileged local access and repeated path-resolution failures are required, and accumulated references can deprive the system of resources.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.19%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Resource leak in AppArmor in affected Linux kernel revisions allows local users to exhaust resources and interrupt system availability. The get_current_exe_path() function acquires executable-file and path references, then returns when aa_path_name() fails without calling fput() or path_put(). Low-privileged local access and repeated path-resolution failures are required, and accumulated references can deprive the system of resources.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72456
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-911, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 15, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=7.0
  2. Affected versionversion=8d34e16f7f2b51f880957f2caadaae731ee28867 <393809a05cfb60309ad63ee09138db8296d6b97e
  3. Affected versionversion=8d34e16f7f2b51f880957f2caadaae731ee28867 <7306c41672487a6c28430714be063bc6942c28f2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=7.0; version=8d34e16f7f2b51f880957f2caadaae731ee28867 <393809a05cfb60309ad63ee09138db8296d6b97e; version=8d34e16f7f2b51f880957f2caadaae731ee28867 <7306c41672487a6c28430714be063bc6942c28f2

Published CVSS scores

4.8SUSECVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
5.5Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
2.5Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
3.3SUSECVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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-911Improper Update of Reference Count
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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