CVE-2026-72462 apparmor: fix race in unix socket mediation when peer_path is used
A race condition in Linux kernel AppArmor allows bypassing Unix socket mediation when peer_path is used, potentially violating security policies.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-72462?
CVE-2026-72462 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: fix race in unix socket mediation when peer_path is used
The holding a reference to the peer_sk is not enough to ensure access to the peer sk path. Accessing the path outside of the state lock allows for a race with unix_release_sock(). Fix this by taking the state lock and getting a reference to the path under lock.
Ideally for connected sockets we would cache this information so we don't have to take the lock here. But for now just fix the race.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72462?
How do I fix CVE-2026-72462?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-72462 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72462 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-72462, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72462, GHSA-6qw2-4mf7-jw7c, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72462.