# CVE-2026-72460: apparmor: check label build before no_new_privs test

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel AppArmor module can cause a system crash when profile changes fail.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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-2026-72460, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72460, GHSA-h42q-rf58-cw35, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72460

## What is CVE-2026-72460?

CVE-2026-72460 is a high-severity 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: check label build before no_new_privs test

aa_change_profile() builds a replacement label with
fn_label_build_in_scope() before the no_new_privs subset check. The build
helper can fail and return NULL or an ERR_PTR, but the result was passed
to aa_label_is_unconfined_subset() before the existing IS_ERR_OR_NULL()
check.

Reuse the existing target-label build failure handling immediately after
the build. This preserves the current audit handling while preventing the
subset helper from dereferencing an invalid label.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72460?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-72460?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-72460 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72460 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-72460 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-72460 is a high-severity 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-2026-72460 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-2026-72460/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72460/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-72460
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72460
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-72460

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72460/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.