CVE-2026-72456 apparmor: release exe file resources on path failure
A resource leak in the Linux kernel AppArmor module allows local attackers to exhaust system resources, potentially causing denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-72456?
CVE-2026-72456 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
apparmor: release exe file resources on path failure
get_current_exe_path() takes both an exe_file reference and a path reference before resolving the path name. If aa_path_name() failed, it returned immediately and leaked both references.
Route the failure through the common cleanup path so fput() and path_put() always run after the references are acquired.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72456?
How do I fix CVE-2026-72456?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2026-72456 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72456 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72456, GHSA-9fj6-7jcr-96f8, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72456.