CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-68160NVD status: Received

Linux: Out-of-bounds Read

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-68160 is a critical-severity out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions f913192fc782288e060dafc329b2346934be34cc, 0c011137194036424e974677e0f1592e22a33d8c, cc93f68a31c9b831abf2db8647b5f5b10329d793 as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.77% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 56% of scored CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to f913192fc782288e060dafc329b2346934be34cc or 0c011137194036424e974677e0f1592e22a33d8c or cc93f68a31c9b831abf2db8647b5f5b10329d793 or 9081c71796724ffe96cba253f68fbe42363c5295, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinuxa8599bd821d084d04a3290fffae1071624ec00ea up to, but not including, f913192fc782288e060dafc329b2346934be34cc; a8599bd821d084d04a3290fffae1071624ec00ea up to, but not including, 0c011137194036424e974677e0f1592e22a33d8c; a8599bd821d084d04a3290fffae1071624ec00ea up to, but not including, cc93f68a31c9b831abf2db8647b5f5b10329d793; a8599bd821d084d04a3290fffae1071624ec00ea up to, but not including, 9081c71796724ffe96cba253f68fbe42363c5295; a8599bd821d084d04a3290fffae1071624ec00ea up to, but not including, 03b417afce19ee6b6e61f1bbbbebac924c9f36d1; a8599bd821d084d04a3290fffae1071624ec00ea up to, but not including, a4228b93706fb74a484e6ffb271c1cc2af3a2ddb; a8599bd821d084d04a3290fffae1071624ec00ea up to, but not including, 71893c342a26bcff92eaab0b2b75d64aed19308a; a8599bd821d084d04a3290fffae1071624ec00ea up to, but not including, 4dbc71bcaf9a30abf3920a4e2cc4ed33bba78c02; and 1 more rangesf913192fc782288e060dafc329b2346934be34cc, 0c011137194036424e974677e0f1592e22a33d8c, cc93f68a31c9b831abf2db8647b5f5b10329d793, 9081c71796724ffe96cba253f68fbe42363c5295, 03b417afce19ee6b6e61f1bbbbebac924c9f36d1, a4228b93706fb74a484e6ffb271c1cc2af3a2ddb

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ceph: fix pre-auth out-of-bounds read on snaptrace in ceph_handle_caps() ceph_handle_caps() reads snap_trace_len from the wire-format ceph_mds_caps header and uses it unconditionally to build a fake end pointer (snaptrace + snaptrace_len) that is later handed to ceph_update_snap_trace() in the CEPH_CAP_OP_IMPORT case: snaptrace = h + 1; snaptrace_len = le32_to_cpu(h->snap_trace_len); p = snaptrace + snaptrace_len; ... case CEPH_CAP_OP_IMPORT: if (snaptrace_len) { ... if (ceph_update_snap_trace(mdsc, snaptrace, snaptrace + snaptrace_len, false, &realm)) { ... } ceph_update_snap_trace() then decodes a struct ceph_mds_snap_realm from snaptrace using ceph_decode_need(&p, e, sizeof(*ri), bad) with the attacker-supplied fake end e == snaptrace + snaptrace_len. With snaptrace_len == 0xFFFFFFFF the bound check is trivially satisfied, ri = p reads sizeof(struct ceph_mds_snap_realm) past the legitimate msg->front buffer, and ri->num_snaps / ri->num_prior_parent_snaps then drive further out-of-bounds reads of the encoded snap arrays. The eleven msg_version >= 2 .. msg_version >= 12 decoder blocks above the op switch each catch this OOB through their ceph_decode_*_safe() / ceph_decode_need() helpers, but they sit behind a hdr.version-gated if, so a malicious or compromised MDS that sets msg->hdr.version = 1 reaches the IMPORT path with no version-gated decoder having validated snap_trace_len. The shape has been present since ceph_handle_caps() was introduced. Validate snap_trace_len against the message front buffer before consuming it, using the canonical ceph_decode_need() / ceph_has_room() helper. The helper bounds the length with subtraction (n <= end - p, guarded by end >= p) rather than pointer addition, so it is wrap-safe for the attacker-controlled u32 length on 32-bit builds where p + snap_trace_len could overflow the address space. This matches the rest of the ceph decode path (e.g. the pool_ns_len check a few lines below), and the existing goto bad cleanup already covers this exit path.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Out-of-bounds Read

The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.

More Out-of-bounds Read vulnerabilities (CWE-125)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Out-of-bounds Read vulnerabilities

Spotted an error? Tell us.