What is CVE-2026-72461?

CVE-2026-72461 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 6.17 onward and patched in 6.18.40, 7.1.5 and 7.2. CVE-2026-72461 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-72461?

CVE-2026-72461 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72461?

Yes, CVE-2026-72461 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.40, 7.1.5 and 7.2. If you are running Linux kernel 6.17 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-72461 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-72461 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2026-72461

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: apparmor: fix refcount leak when updating the sk_ctx Currently update_sk_ctx() transfers the plabel reference, unfortunately it is also unconditionally put in the caller. Ideally we would make the caller conditionally put the reference based on whether it was transferred but for now just fix the bug by getting a reference.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-08-15

Last modified 2026-08-17

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

7.8

out of 10

High

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Vector string

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

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.17 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.18.40, 7.1.5, 7.2 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 6.17

Fixed in

✓ 6.18.40 6.18.x ✓ 7.1.5 7.1.x ✓ 7.2

References

3 total

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-72461

Severity High

CVSS score 7.8 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-08-15

Modified 2026-08-17

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-72461?

CVE-2026-72461 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.17 onward and has been patched in 6.18.40, 7.1.5 and 7.2. CVE-2026-72461 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-72461?

CVE-2026-72461 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72461?

Yes. CVE-2026-72461 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.40, 7.1.5 and 7.2. If you are running Linux kernel 6.17 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-72461 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2026-72461 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.