VulnerabilityPublished 17 Sep 2026Updated 30 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-90179: Linux kernel · apparmor: fix deadlock in complain-mode change_hat

Source GCVE Database

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Authoritative record:CVE-2026-90179· High

Not known to be exploited · fixed in fb8ac089815dc192d891294cf0ffeeafd910136a : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 19:03 UTC

Severity

High

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

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

Patch: Available – fixed in fb8ac089815dc192d891294cf0ffeeafd910136a, 91fce09d89b2d397996226216820f0e8b8149e22, 072fb5aeec2eac7d445bf28c7119a1d6f6a2e333 +10

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 17 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 30 Oct 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.

ghsa-wgph-2236-wgxv

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected >=6.1.178 <6.1.191 >=6.6.145 <6.6.160 >=6.12.97 <6.12.114 >=6.18.40 <6.18.52 >=5.10.261 <5.11 >=5.15.212 <5.16 >=7.1.5 <7.2	Fixed in fb8ac089815dc192d891294cf0ffeeafd910136a 91fce09d89b2d397996226216820f0e8b8149e22 072fb5aeec2eac7d445bf28c7119a1d6f6a2e333 7.2 6.18.52 6.12.114 6.6.160 6.1.191 5f1fedccf3f7add5e2a1205ac4938fa3893c5874 5.16 5.11 4ec11f14d1d6fdda787d991b142537be7841d395 00cce5e457cb690a3b3b3d334e76e71049ec8ae5
LinuxLinux	Affected =7.2	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix is available that restructures the locking mechanism in the AppArmor change_hat and profile creation code to prevent deadlocks. Users should apply the official kernel patches that address this issue. Since this is a kernel-level vulnerability, upgrading to a fixed kernel version or applying the vendor's patch is the recommended remediation. No alternative mitigations or workarounds are indicated in the advisory.

Description

CVE-2026-90179 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel's AppArmor security module that causes a deadlock when changing hats in complain mode. The deadlock occurs because the change_hat function takes a lock to search the hat list, and creating a new learning profile also requires taking the same lock, leading to a self-blocking condition. This results in the affected process hanging and becoming unkillable. The issue was observed in Linux kernel versions 6.18.44 and 7.2-rc7 but not in 6.12.95 with Debian patches. Additional reference count leaks and a potential use-after-free were also fixed in the same patch. The fix involves restructuring locking in the affected functions to prevent deadlocks.

Impact

The vulnerability causes processes that invoke change_hat in complain mode to hang indefinitely and become unkillable due to a deadlock on a mutex lock. This can lead to denial of service on systems using AppArmor with complain mode and change_hat functionality. The deadlock also prevents any further hat changes from succeeding, potentially impacting system security policy enforcement and stability.

References

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