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CVE-2026-68213NVD status: Received

Linux: Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-68213 is a high-severity missing release of memory after effective lifetime vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions fd1e11fc3849169285e48b2d4ec441614ad2ea74, 772f2550fe32357557d3b2f88e02f7cf477f0789, a248273f8af6e630a03e823274385725974009b5 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 0.18% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to fd1e11fc3849169285e48b2d4ec441614ad2ea74 or 772f2550fe32357557d3b2f88e02f7cf477f0789 or a248273f8af6e630a03e823274385725974009b5 or 465dc8e71d2db2ed603e749fa71392bcdccf07eb, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b up to, but not including, fd1e11fc3849169285e48b2d4ec441614ad2ea74; 771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b up to, but not including, 772f2550fe32357557d3b2f88e02f7cf477f0789; 771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b up to, but not including, a248273f8af6e630a03e823274385725974009b5; 771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b up to, but not including, 465dc8e71d2db2ed603e749fa71392bcdccf07eb; 771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b up to, but not including, 0b08c0403cf672a121ace4eff647a9b240bd4e1b; 771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b up to, but not including, 894e83509c66910112b9eaeaa8cd66cd9806db91; 771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b up to, but not including, fc0b18782aab4e35078efe72863df8eab46560a8; 771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b up to, but not including, 33ca0aab6f4bd90921fc1395478f38f72c4d19af; and 1 more rangesfd1e11fc3849169285e48b2d4ec441614ad2ea74, 772f2550fe32357557d3b2f88e02f7cf477f0789, a248273f8af6e630a03e823274385725974009b5, 465dc8e71d2db2ed603e749fa71392bcdccf07eb, 0b08c0403cf672a121ace4eff647a9b240bd4e1b, 894e83509c66910112b9eaeaa8cd66cd9806db91

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
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
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:L/AC:L/PR:L/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: media: rtl2832_sdr: Return queued buffers on start_streaming() failure The vb2 framework hands buffers to the driver via buf_queue() before calling start_streaming(). If start_streaming() returns an error without first returning those buffers via vb2_buffer_done(), vb2_start_streaming() fires WARN_ON(owned_by_drv_count) and the queued buffers leak. rtl2832_sdr_start_streaming() had multiple error paths that hit this trap: two direct early returns (-ENODEV, -ERESTARTSYS), plus six `goto err` paths covering subdev s_power, tuner setup, ADC setup, stream-buffer allocation, urb allocation, and urb submission failures. None of them returned the queued buffers. The original function had no distinct success exit and fell straight through into the err label, which previously only did mutex_unlock and "return ret". Adding queued-buffer cleanup at err must therefore be paired with an explicit success return; otherwise every successful start would also drain the buffer queue and kill streaming. Add that success return, then add rtl2832_sdr_cleanup_queued_bufs() at the err label and before each early return. The cleanup helper takes a vb2_buffer_state argument so that the start_streaming error paths can pass VB2_BUF_STATE_QUEUED (as expected by userspace on start_streaming failure) while stop_streaming keeps its existing VB2_BUF_STATE_ERROR semantics. This mirrors the uvcvideo fix in commit 4cf3b6fd54eb ("media: uvcvideo: Return queued buffers on start_streaming() failure"). The err label still does not roll back power_ctrl(), frontend_ctrl(), the POWER_ON flag, or stream/URB allocations that may have happened before the failing step. Those are pre-existing leaks of a different class and are not addressed here.

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

The underlying weakness: Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, making the memory unavailable for reallocation and reuse.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Choose a language or tool that provides automatic memory management, or makes manual memory management less error-prone. For example, glibc in Linux provides protection against free of invalid pointers. When using Xcode to target OS X or iOS, enable automatic reference counting (ARC). To help correctly and consistently manage memory when programming in C++, consider using a smart pointer class such as std
  • Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
  • Consider using the Boehm-Demers-Weiser garbage collector (bdwgc), which can help avoid leaks.

More Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime vulnerabilities (CWE-401)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime vulnerabilities

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