Vulnerability in Linux

CVE-2026-72242

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.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.007 (51.9th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 52nd percentile — 51.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-72242: held from 0.007 to 0.007.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.007 · newest: 0.007 · change: +0.000

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 4.17, d452930fd3b9031e59abfeddb2fa383f1403d61a, 7.2

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-72242?
CVE-2026-72242 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2026-08-15.
How severe is CVE-2026-72242?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.