CVE & CISA-KEV Catalog

CVE-2026-45966

MEDIUM
5.5
CVSS v3
NVD

Description

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.

How to fix

Remediation Available
linuxDebian
Fixed in:6.18.14-1CVE-2026-45966
linux-aws-6.17Ubuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1017.17~24.04.1USN-8374-1
linux-gcpUbuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1018.19USN-8374-1
linux-gcp-6.17Ubuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1018.19~24.04.1USN-8374-1
linux-image-6.17.0-1017-awsUbuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1017.17~24.04.1USN-8374-1
linux-image-6.17.0-1017-aws-64kUbuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1017.17~24.04.1USN-8374-1
linux-image-6.17.0-1018-gcpUbuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1018.19~24.04.1USN-8374-1
Fixed in:6.17.0-1018.19USN-8374-1
linux-image-6.17.0-1018-gcp-64kUbuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1018.19~24.04.1USN-8374-1
Fixed in:6.17.0-1018.19USN-8374-1
linux-image-6.17.0-1026-nvidiaUbuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1026.26USN-8508-1
linux-image-6.17.0-1026-nvidia-64kUbuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1026.26USN-8508-1
linux-image-awsUbuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1017.17~24.04.1USN-8374-1
linux-image-aws-6.17Ubuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1017.17~24.04.1USN-8374-1
linux-image-aws-64kUbuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1017.17~24.04.1USN-8374-1
linux-image-aws-64k-6.17Ubuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1017.17~24.04.1USN-8374-1
linux-image-gcpUbuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1018.19~24.04.1USN-8374-1
Fixed in:6.17.0-1018.19USN-8374-1
linux-image-gcp-6.17Ubuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1018.19~24.04.1USN-8374-1
Fixed in:6.17.0-1018.19USN-8374-1
linux-image-gcp-64kUbuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1018.19~24.04.1USN-8374-1
Fixed in:6.17.0-1018.19USN-8374-1
linux-image-gcp-64k-6.17Ubuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1018.19~24.04.1USN-8374-1
Fixed in:6.17.0-1018.19USN-8374-1
linux-image-nvidia-6.17Ubuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1026.26USN-8508-1
linux-image-nvidia-64k-6.17Ubuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1026.26USN-8508-1
linux-image-nvidia-64k-hwe-24.04Ubuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1026.26USN-8508-1
linux-image-nvidia-hwe-24.04Ubuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1026.26USN-8508-1
linux-nvidia-6.17Ubuntu
Fixed in:6.17.0-1026.26USN-8508-1

Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.

CVSS v3 Vector

Exploitability

Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityNone
AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Exploit Intelligence

0.12%probability of exploitation in 30 days
2ndpercentile

Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 2% of all known CVEs.

References

Related Vulnerabilities

Other CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all

CVESeverityCVSSEPSSExploitedFix
CVE-2023-21758High7.592%-Fix
CVE-2023-21547High7.588%-Fix
CVE-2014-3470Medium4.386%-Fix
CVE-2021-44224High8.282%-Fix
CVE-2016-0742High7.582%-Fix
CVE-2009-1386Medium5.080%-Fix
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-06-16.