CVE-2026-45966 | apparmor: fix NULL pointer dereference in __unix_needs_revalidation

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: apparmor: fix NULL pointer dereference in __unix_needs_revalidation When receiving file descriptors via SCM_RIGHTS, both the socket pointer and the socket's sk pointer can be NULL during socket setup or teardown, causing NULL pointer dereferences in __unix_needs_revalidation(). This is a regression in AppArmor 5.0.0 (kernel 6.17+) where the new __unix_needs_revalidation() function was added without proper NULL checks. The crash manifests as: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0x0000000000000018 RIP: aa_file_perm+0xb7/0x3b0 (or +0xbe/0x3b0, +0xc0/0x3e0) Call Trace: apparmor_file_receive+0x42/0x80 security_file_receive+0x2e/0x50 receive_fd+0x1d/0xf0 scm_detach_fds+0xad/0x1c0 The function dereferences sock->sk->sk_family without checking if either sock or sock->sk is NULL first. Add NULL checks for both sock and sock->sk before accessing sk_family.

Published: 2026-05-27 Last update: 2026-05-27 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-45966 is rated Low Risk (4.3/100): low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.02%). Mandatory action: Low composite risk—no urgent action required; patch on your normal maintenance cycle and revisit priority if CVSS or EPSS increases.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-45966

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-28 0.02%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-45966

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

No CVSS data in dataset for this CVE.

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-45966

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-45966

GHSA-g4q8-m3pw-qhvv · Severity: unknown — In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: apparmor: fix NULL pointer...

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-45966

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2026-45966 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-45966
redhat https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-45966
suse https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-45966/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-45966 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 891 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, resolute, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 508, needs-triage 224, ignored 159. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-45966

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-45966

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
No affected products in dataset.

References for CVE-2026-45966

cvelogic Threat Intelligence