What is CVE-2026-72242?

CVE-2026-72242 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.5 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 4.17 onward and patched in 5.10.266, 5.15.217, 6.1.184 and others. CVE-2026-72242 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-72242?

CVE-2026-72242 has a CVSS score of 7.5 out of 10, rated High severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72242?

Yes, CVE-2026-72242 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.266, 5.15.217, 6.1.184 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.17 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-72242 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-72242 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2026-72242

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: selinux: avoid sk_socket dereference in selinux_sctp_bind_connect() selinux_sctp_bind_connect() dereferences sk->sk_socket to pass a struct socket * to selinux_socket_bind() and selinux_socket_connect_helper(). However, when the hook is invoked from the ASCONF softirq path (sctp_process_asconf), there is no file reference guaranteeing that sk->sk_socket is non-NULL. The setsockopt callers (bindx, connectx, set_primary, sendmsg connect) hold a file reference and are not affected. Both selinux_socket_bind() and selinux_socket_connect_helper() immediately resolve sock->sk, never using the struct socket * for anything else. Refactor the inner logic into helpers that take a struct sock * directly so that selinux_sctp_bind_connect() never needs to touch sk->sk_socket at all.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-08-15

Last modified 2026-08-23

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

7.5

out of 10

High

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Vector string

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

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 4.17 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.10.266, 5.15.217, 6.1.184, 6.6.148, 6.12.97, 6.18.40, 7.1.5, 7.2 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 4.17

Fixed in

✓ 5.10.266 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.217 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.184 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.148 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.97 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.40 6.18.x ✓ 7.1.5 7.1.x ✓ 7.2

References

8 total

Showing 5 of 8 references View all on NVD

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-72242

Severity High

CVSS score 7.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-08-15

Modified 2026-08-23

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-72242?

CVE-2026-72242 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.17 onward and has been patched in 5.10.266, 5.15.217, 6.1.184 and others. CVE-2026-72242 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-72242?

CVE-2026-72242 has a CVSS score of 7.5 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72242?

Yes. CVE-2026-72242 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.266, 5.15.217, 6.1.184 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.17 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-72242 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2026-72242 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.