# CVE-2026-72459: apparmor: aa_label_alloc use aa_label_free on alloc failure

> A resource leak in the Linux kernel AppArmor module can lead to memory exhaustion and denial of service when label allocation fails.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-72459, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72459, GHSA-787x-f6pf-8wg4, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72459

## What is CVE-2026-72459?

CVE-2026-72459 is a high-severity memory corruption 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: aa_label_alloc use aa_label_free on alloc failure

aa_label_alloc() allocates a secid before allocating or taking the label
proxy. If the later proxy step fails, the error path only freed the label
memory, leaking any resources initialized by aa_label_init().

Use aa_label_free() on the failure path so partially initialized labels
release their secid and other label resources before the backing memory is
freed.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72459?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-72459?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-72459 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72459 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-72459 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-72459 is a high-severity memory corruption 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72459 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72459/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72459/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-72459
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72459
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-72459

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72459/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.