CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-68216NVD status: Received

Linux: Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-68216 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 d552852bf76b7dfb35b4593fc874d8dd2f1b1bf3, 0362ae30b61b3053ee3095c1b8f179197ec4f539, fa78e590852751d3ad32f33f6b4e210fe6ccbe9b 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 d552852bf76b7dfb35b4593fc874d8dd2f1b1bf3 or 0362ae30b61b3053ee3095c1b8f179197ec4f539 or fa78e590852751d3ad32f33f6b4e210fe6ccbe9b or f2f9fcacd81953dde6cb86312ab13ca13e689664, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinuxceede9fa8939e40ad0ddb4ad1355f45c6f1d3478 up to, but not including, d552852bf76b7dfb35b4593fc874d8dd2f1b1bf3; ceede9fa8939e40ad0ddb4ad1355f45c6f1d3478 up to, but not including, 0362ae30b61b3053ee3095c1b8f179197ec4f539; ceede9fa8939e40ad0ddb4ad1355f45c6f1d3478 up to, but not including, fa78e590852751d3ad32f33f6b4e210fe6ccbe9b; ceede9fa8939e40ad0ddb4ad1355f45c6f1d3478 up to, but not including, f2f9fcacd81953dde6cb86312ab13ca13e689664; ceede9fa8939e40ad0ddb4ad1355f45c6f1d3478 up to, but not including, 5d7cc2634c3843a1414a0f6407aa17f1f91dee60; ceede9fa8939e40ad0ddb4ad1355f45c6f1d3478 up to, but not including, cb16b79a2be2cec9c3ebe4147490817c4d8b1de3; ceede9fa8939e40ad0ddb4ad1355f45c6f1d3478 up to, but not including, a4f8f629983f643333e49df90557805469bcbb25; ceede9fa8939e40ad0ddb4ad1355f45c6f1d3478 up to, but not including, 975b2ee20e569d47821e4f6c9761b4664d48a6a4; and 1 more rangesd552852bf76b7dfb35b4593fc874d8dd2f1b1bf3, 0362ae30b61b3053ee3095c1b8f179197ec4f539, fa78e590852751d3ad32f33f6b4e210fe6ccbe9b, f2f9fcacd81953dde6cb86312ab13ca13e689664, 5d7cc2634c3843a1414a0f6407aa17f1f91dee60, cb16b79a2be2cec9c3ebe4147490817c4d8b1de3

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: pwc: 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. pwc's start_streaming() had two early returns that hit this trap: -ENODEV when the USB device was already disconnected, and -ERESTARTSYS when mutex_lock_interruptible() was interrupted by a signal. Call the existing pwc_cleanup_queued_bufs() helper with VB2_BUF_STATE_QUEUED before returning (matching the state already used by the pwc_isoc_init() error path in the same function). This mirrors the uvcvideo fix in commit 4cf3b6fd54eb ("media: uvcvideo: Return queued buffers on start_streaming() failure").

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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