VulnerabilityPublished 3 Sep 2026Updated 6 Nov 2026

CVE-2026-80756: Linux kernel · selinux: do not cancel a policy conversion that never started

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · fixed in e5c0235a3c4e9eb047a16cd02323fe4ecf2f570e : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 6 Nov 2026, 17:40 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated Medium by Threat Radar's AI analysis · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

Exploitation: No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
Automatable: Attackers cannot reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
Technical impact: Limited control over the software or limited information exposure

CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-11-06.

Patch

Available – fixed in e5c0235a3c4e9eb047a16cd02323fe4ecf2f570e, a42932c6aa33d0aac683cacdf1ec7009b955ba5d, a4f182f8715cb0819445f0850cd5436828f4bafc +5

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 3 Sep 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 6 Nov 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 02a52c5c8c3b8cbad0f12009cde9f36dbefb6972, < e5c0235a3c4e9eb047a16cd02323fe4ecf2f570e	Fixed in e5c0235a3c4e9eb047a16cd02323fe4ecf2f570e
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 02a52c5c8c3b8cbad0f12009cde9f36dbefb6972, < a42932c6aa33d0aac683cacdf1ec7009b955ba5d	Fixed in a42932c6aa33d0aac683cacdf1ec7009b955ba5d
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 02a52c5c8c3b8cbad0f12009cde9f36dbefb6972, < a4f182f8715cb0819445f0850cd5436828f4bafc	Fixed in a4f182f8715cb0819445f0850cd5436828f4bafc
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 02a52c5c8c3b8cbad0f12009cde9f36dbefb6972, < 1059789ae9f99cbbe3a78e361e9c0976beb5958b	Fixed in 1059789ae9f99cbbe3a78e361e9c0976beb5958b
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 02a52c5c8c3b8cbad0f12009cde9f36dbefb6972, < 219c96de5d9b6b4af7e8576ad897b774cc3ee9a7	Fixed in 219c96de5d9b6b4af7e8576ad897b774cc3ee9a7
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 02a52c5c8c3b8cbad0f12009cde9f36dbefb6972, < 2d29983104f06f5b0babcd5a25a0f0408272cd27	Fixed in 2d29983104f06f5b0babcd5a25a0f0408272cd27

AI-suggested

A fix is available and has been applied in the Linux kernel source as indicated by multiple commit hashes. Users should update to a kernel version including these fixes to prevent the NULL pointer dereference. No additional mitigation is required beyond applying the official patch.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel SELinux subsystem causes a NULL pointer dereference during the first policy load if the policy conversion is canceled without an existing outgoing policy. This occurs when selinux_policy_cancel() is called despite no prior policy being loaded, leading to a potential kernel crash triggered by writing to /sys/fs/selinux/load.

Impact

This vulnerability can cause a kernel NULL pointer dereference leading to a denial of service (system crash) when a failed SELinux policy load occurs on the first policy load attempt. There is no indication of privilege escalation or code execution impact.

Summary

The Linux kernel SELinux component had a flaw where sel_write_load() would call selinux_policy_cancel() after sel_make_policy_nodes() failed. This cancel function dereferences the outgoing policy's sidtab conversion. On the first policy load, no outgoing policy exists (state->policy is NULL), but selinux_policy_cancel() is still called, causing a NULL pointer dereference. The fix skips the cancel operation when no old policy exists, aligning with the early return in security_load_policy() that prevents conversion when no prior policy is loaded.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 6 Nov 2026, 17:40 UTC

Technical details

References

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