Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Triggering requires local AppArmor policy-load privilege (PR:H) and winning a narrow refcount race (AC:H); a kernel UAF can yield full C/I/A compromise.
Primary rating from Vendor (Linux).
CVSS VectorVendor: Linux
Lifecycle Timeline
5DescriptionCVE.org
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
apparmor: fix use-after-free in rawdata dedup loop
aa_replace_profiles() walks ns->rawdata_list to dedup the incoming policy blob against entries already attached to existing profiles. Per the kernel-doc on struct aa_loaddata, list membership does not hold a reference: profiles hold pcount, and when the last pcount drops, do_ploaddata_rmfs() is queued on a workqueue that takes ns->lock and removes the entry. Between dropping the last pcount and the workqueue running, an entry remains on the list with pcount == 0.
aa_get_profile_loaddata() is an unconditional kref_get() on pcount, so when the dedup loop hits such an entry, refcount hardening reports
refcount_t: addition on 0; use-after-free.
inside aa_replace_profiles(), and the poisoned counter then trips "saturated" and "underflow" warnings on the subsequent uses of the same loaddata.
Before commit a0b7091c4de4 ("apparmor: fix race on rawdata dereference") the dedup path used a get_unless_zero-style helper on a single counter, so the existing "if (tmp)" guard was meaningful. The split-refcount refactor introduced aa_get_profile_loaddata(), which has plain kref_get() semantics, and the guard quietly became a no-op.
Introduce aa_get_profile_loaddata_not0(), matching the existing _not0 convention used by aa_get_profile_not0(), and use it for the rawdata_list dedup lookup so dying entries are skipped.
Reproduced on x86_64 with v7.1-rc5 in QEMU+KVM running Ubuntu 24.04 + stress-ng 0.17.06:
stress-ng --apparmor 1 --klog-check --timeout 60s
Without this patch the three refcount_t warnings fire within a few seconds. With it the same 60 s run is clean. Coverage is a smoke-test only; a longer soak with CONFIG_KASAN, CONFIG_KCSAN and CONFIG_PROVE_LOCKING would be welcome from anyone with the cycles.
AnalysisAI
Local privilege-escalation-class memory corruption in the Linux kernel's AppArmor LSM affects the policy-replacement path (aa_replace_profiles) across a wide span of stable branches (5.10 through 7.1). During the rawdata deduplication loop, aa_get_profile_loaddata() performs an unconditional kref_get() on struct aa_loaddata entries whose pcount has already dropped to zero but which remain briefly on ns->rawdata_list before the deferred do_ploaddata_rmfs() workqueue frees them, producing a refcount 'addition on 0' use-after-free. Exploitation requires local access with the ability to load AppArmor policy and winning a narrow race; there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and EPSS risk is low (0.16%, 6th percentile).
Technical ContextAI
The affected component is AppArmor, a Linux Security Module used to confine processes via loadable policy profiles. The root cause is a lifetime/refcounting defect (CWE-416 Use-After-Free, though the NVD CWE field is N/A) in the split-refcount design of struct aa_loaddata: profiles hold a 'pcount' reference, and mere membership on ns->rawdata_list does NOT hold a reference. When the last pcount is dropped, do_ploaddata_rmfs() is queued on a workqueue that later takes ns->lock to unlink the entry, leaving a window where a pcount==0 object is still list-reachable. The regression was introduced by commit a0b7091c4de4 ('apparmor: fix race on rawdata dereference'), whose split-refcount refactor replaced a get_unless_zero-style single-counter helper with a plain kref_get() in aa_get_profile_loaddata(), silently neutering the existing 'if (tmp)' guard in the dedup path. The CPE data (cpe:2.3:a:linux:linux) identifies the mainline Linux kernel as the affected product; the fix adds aa_get_profile_loaddata_not0() following the existing _not0 convention so dying entries are skipped.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade to a fixed stable kernel for your branch - 6.1.177, 6.6.144, 6.12.95, 6.18.38, or 7.1.3 (mainline 7.2-rc1), whichever matches your series, then reboot to activate the new kernel. On distributions, apply the corresponding distro kernel update (e.g. Ubuntu/SUSE security updates) rather than building from source. The fix commits are available at git.kernel.org (https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6f060496d03e4dc560a40f73770bd08335cb7a27, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5e34fa9f6f7cd688ae153fff13139a5cf2d42339, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c3ca2631073b2cef06824fd2bfc452ff7a1023de). If you cannot patch immediately, the practical compensating control is to restrict who can load or replace AppArmor policy: ensure no untrusted or unprivileged users hold CAP_MAC_ADMIN and disallow unprivileged user-namespace policy loading, which removes the attacker's ability to reach aa_replace_profiles (side effect: legitimate confined-container tooling that reloads profiles will be blocked). Disabling AppArmor entirely also closes the path but removes all MAC confinement and is generally not advisable on Ubuntu/SUSE systems that depend on it.
Same technique Information Disclosure
View allVendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: Important| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro Extras 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro Extras 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro Extras 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP7 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 12 SP5 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 12 SP5 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 LTSS EXTREME CORE | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 LTSS EXTREME CORE | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS Extended Security | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS Extended Security | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE CaaS Platform 4.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 6 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 SP4 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP3 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-ESPOS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-ESPOS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-ESPOS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP3 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP3 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-BCL | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-BCL | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-BCL | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP5 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.3 | Not-Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | Affected |
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-45493
GHSA-gpp3-g5wp-8xhw