In the Linux kernel, AppArmor’s socket permission logic contained a flaw that caused a NULL pointer dereference during the setup or teardown of sockets. When the kernel attempted to reference a null socket or socket‑sk structure, an oops occurred, which can crash the kernel and bring the system to a halt. This defect is a classic null‑pointer dereference, identified as CWE‑476. No direct code execution or escalation was described in the official text.

All Linux kernel releases that have not incorporated the AppArmor fix are potentially affected. The vendor identified is Linux; the product is the Linux kernel. No specific affected version range is supplied in the vendor data, so any kernel build before the commit that implements the null‑pointer check is vulnerable.

The CVSS and EPSS scores are not provided, and the issue is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. Because the flaw involves the kernel's socket handling, it likely requires local interaction that can create or manipulate sockets, potentially including processes with elevated privileges. The risk is primarily for denial of service through a kernel crash, and the most plausible attack vector is inferred to be local exploitation, requiring code that can influence socket configuration.