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Linux Kernel EUVDEUVD-2026-81824

| CVE-2026-90231 HIGH
2026-09-17 Linux GHSA-24pv-j52f-w4hj
8.4
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Linux
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Obtain execution in AppArmor-confined stacked task
  2. Delivery
    Trigger transition through unconfined profile
  3. Exploit
    Execute second transition escaping restriction
  4. Execution
    Bypass confinement / unpriv-userns limit
  5. Impact
    Access resources outside intended policy

Vulnerability Assessment

Exploitation Conditions

Requires local access to a task that is already AppArmor-confined by a profile stack, running on a kernel (approximately 6.7 through the fixed 6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc1 range) with AppArmor enforcing. The specific trigger is the ability to execute two profile transitions through an unconfined profile; the unprivileged-transition restriction that should block escape via unconfined is not applied to the already-stacked task. Limiting factors: exploitation is local only (AV:L), needs an existing confined/stacked context (PR:L), depends on a policy configuration that permits transitions through unconfined, and only affects hosts that actually deploy AppArmor with these unprivileged-transition restrictions (primarily Ubuntu/SUSE). No user interaction is required.

Impact

This is a genuine security-boundary bypass, not a crash or DoS. The vendor CVSS3.1 8.4 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N) describes an AppArmor confinement escape: a task already confined by a stack fails to have the unprivileged transition restriction on the 'unconfined' profile applied, so two transitions through an unconfined profile let the task escape its intended confinement. The scope change (S:C) is defensible because the flaw crosses the AppArmor policy boundary, and C:H/I:H reflect access to resources the policy was meant to deny - this typically serves as a stepping stone toward unprivileged-user-namespace-based privilege escalation. No exploitation signals are present: no EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis, so there is no evidence of active or opportunistic exploitation. This is a legitimate local hardening/priority fix for AppArmor-enforcing hosts (Ubuntu/SUSE), but it is not a mass-exploitable remote issue - it requires local access to an already-confined task and a policy configuration permitting the double transition through unconfined. Note the input Tags label this 'Information Disclosure,' which is a mislabel: the primary impact is an authorization/confinement bypass (CWE-863/284), and CWE is listed as N/A in the source data.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local attacker running inside an AppArmor-confined task (e.g., a sandboxed application or container workload) whose policy is built on a stack executes two successive profile transitions through an unconfined component. Because the unprivileged-transition restriction on unconfined is not applied to an already-stacked task, the attacker escapes the intended AppArmor confinement - for instance bypassing the restriction that normally blocks unprivileged user-namespace creation - and gains access to resources or capabilities the policy was designed to deny. No public exploit code has been identified.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 18, 2026

AppArmor confinement escape in the Linux kernel allows a local user who is already confined by a profile stack to pass through an unconfined profile and break out of the enforced AppArmor security boundary, yielding high confidentiality and integrity impact with changed scope (CVSS 8.4, CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N). The defect is that the unprivileged-transition restriction on unconfined is not applied when a task is already stacked, so the escape succeeds if two transitions through an unconfined profile can be executed; exploitation is local only, requires an existing confined/stacked context plus policy that permits such transitions, and therefore concentrates on hosts that deploy AppArmor with these restrictions (primarily Ubuntu and SUSE). Vendor-released patches exist for 6.18.52, 7.2.6 and 7.3-rc1, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: Linux 6.18.52, 7.2.6 and 7.3-rc1 (and later) contain the upstream fix delivered by commits 7d1099b86356df81c379159bfb8a598aaf83ce81, 7da0bdf0610f6d35bbb061536a47fc41646306f0 and 08c2f7c8d4b1434cfae006f3daf4d1bce330b57b; upgrade to the distribution kernel that backports these commits (track the NVD entry https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90231 and your vendor's AppArmor advisory) and reboot, since AppArmor fixes only take effect on the running kernel. Where immediate patching is not possible, the most effective compensating control is to remove the policy path this bug abuses: audit loaded AppArmor policy for rules that allow transitions into the unconfined profile (or into unconfined user namespaces) and replace them with explicit transitions to a defined profile, or set the relevant unprivileged-userns restriction so that transitions to unconfined are denied outright - the trade-off is that container runtimes (Docker/podman rootless, some Kubernetes runtimes) and browser sandboxes that rely on unprivileged user namespaces or unconfined transitions may fail or need policy rework. Restricting local interactive access and preventing unprivileged users from loading or replacing AppArmor policy reduces the set of users who can reach the stacked-confined state required to trigger the escape, and disabling AppArmor enforcement entirely is not recommended because it removes the boundary rather than fixing it. Note this is a local-only attack requiring an already-confined, stacked task, so the residual risk from these workarounds is lower than the exposure created by weakening unprivileged-namespace functionality globally.

Affected VersionsENISA

Linux 2d9da9b188b8cd3b579d7ef5ba5d334be9dd38fc <7da0bdf0610f6d35bbb061536a47fc41646306f0
Linux 2d9da9b188b8cd3b579d7ef5ba5d334be9dd38fc <08c2f7c8d4b1434cfae006f3daf4d1bce330b57b
Linux patch: 0
Linux patch: 6.18.52
Linux patch: 7.2.6
Linux patch: 7.3-rc1
Linux 2d9da9b188b8cd3b579d7ef5ba5d334be9dd38fc <7d1099b86356df81c379159bfb8a598aaf83ce81
Linux 6.7

Affected Packages

euvd linux no fix

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

AppArmor mediates access through profiles attached to task labels, and multiple profiles can be "stacked" on a single task so that every profile in the stack must permit an operation. A separate, hardening restriction blocks unprivileged transitions into the special unconfined profile (and into the unconfined user namespace), which is what normally keeps a confined process from simply dropping its confinement. In the affected kernels the stacked-label code path built profile transitions without re-checking that restriction at the correct point, so a task already confined by a stack could chain two transitions through unconfined and end up effectively unconfined. The upstream fix moves the check into the per-profile label build so the check is always evaluated against unconfined and, when required, produces a stack containing only the unconfined component. The vulnerability lives in the Linux kernel AppArmor subsystem, matching CPE cpe:2.3:a:linux:linux:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*; no CWE identifier was supplied in the source data, but the root-cause class is improper enforcement of a security-policy restriction (a sandbox/security-boundary bypass), not a memory-safety bug - the input tags it as "Information Disclosure," while the assessed vector's changed scope with high confidentiality and integrity impact reflects a broader confinement escape.

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Severity by source

Vendor (Linux) PRIMARY 8.4 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
vuln.today AI 8.4 HIGH

Local confined task (AV:L/PR:L); deterministic logic bug once policy stacking permits it (AC:L); escape crosses the AppArmor policy boundary (S:C) yielding read/modify of protected resources (C:H/I:H), no crash (A:N).

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:N
SUSE 4.4 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
Red Hat 5.5 MEDIUM

Primary rating from Vendor (Linux).

CVSS VectorVendor: Linux

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

Lifecycle Timeline

4
CVSS changed
Sep 18, 2026 - 18:22 NVD
8.4 (HIGH)
Patch available
Sep 17, 2026 - 17:19 EUVD
CVE Published
Sep 17, 2026 - 16:07 cve.org
HIGH 8.4
CVE Published
Sep 17, 2026 - 16:07 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)

DescriptionCVE.org

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

apparmor: fix unconfined user namespace restriction forced stack

If a task is already confined by a stack the unprivileged transition restriction on unconfined is not correctly, applied. This results in an escape if two transitions through an unconfined profile can be executed.

Fix this by pushing the check into the per profile label build. The check will always be done against unconfined and result in a stack of just the unconfined component when necessary.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

AppArmor in the Linux kernel has a confinement escape vulnerability that could allow a local low-privileged user to break out of enforced security boundaries on Ubuntu and SUSE systems, potentially accessing sensitive data and making unauthorized changes. This matters because organizations rely on AppArmor to isolate workloads and enforce least privilege, so a bypass undermines a key control for multi-tenant and hardened environments. Affected teams should prioritize remediation because the flaw carries high confidentiality and integrity impact, though exploitation requires local access and specific policy conditions; no public exploit identified at time of analysis.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 90% exploitable
Prevalence
Medium
AppArmor is default on Ubuntu/SUSE, but unpriv-userns restriction plus stacking is niche
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.2%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact
High

Priority Score

42
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +42
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Moderate
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Not-Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Not-Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Not-Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Not-Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.0 Affected

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