CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-68461NVD status: Received

Linux: Improper Initialization

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-68461 is a high-severity improper initialization 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 0198d579948322cda5178b9672d448375a32f947, 173b61c9276c7b3a5fbcc63ae7aafc897fee1e18, f0b4e1cc8ad76baf49d898727eb52e91a4ef0544 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 0198d579948322cda5178b9672d448375a32f947 or 173b61c9276c7b3a5fbcc63ae7aafc897fee1e18 or f0b4e1cc8ad76baf49d898727eb52e91a4ef0544 or c8542b68ba6ef4f61072098893a3f5b71c569b6c, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux01bb86b380a306bd937c96da36f66429f3362137 up to, but not including, 0198d579948322cda5178b9672d448375a32f947; 01bb86b380a306bd937c96da36f66429f3362137 up to, but not including, 173b61c9276c7b3a5fbcc63ae7aafc897fee1e18; 01bb86b380a306bd937c96da36f66429f3362137 up to, but not including, f0b4e1cc8ad76baf49d898727eb52e91a4ef0544; 01bb86b380a306bd937c96da36f66429f3362137 up to, but not including, c8542b68ba6ef4f61072098893a3f5b71c569b6c; 01bb86b380a306bd937c96da36f66429f3362137 up to, but not including, 9c86a1f930bb2ddb85f867b4736716e82a4a4683; 01bb86b380a306bd937c96da36f66429f3362137 up to, but not including, c81e2af41de6a159837c7129a4fc444ac6e48046; 01bb86b380a306bd937c96da36f66429f3362137 up to, but not including, 7eba000621fff223dd7bab484d48918c7c77a307; 5.110198d579948322cda5178b9672d448375a32f947, 173b61c9276c7b3a5fbcc63ae7aafc897fee1e18, f0b4e1cc8ad76baf49d898727eb52e91a4ef0544, c8542b68ba6ef4f61072098893a3f5b71c569b6c, 9c86a1f930bb2ddb85f867b4736716e82a4a4683, c81e2af41de6a159837c7129a4fc444ac6e48046

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: device property: initialize the remaining fields of fwnode_handle in fwnode_init() If a firmware node is allocated on the stack (for instance: temporary software node whose life-time we control) or on the heap - but using a non-zeroing allocation function - and initialized using fwnode_init(), its secondary pointer will contain uninitialized memory which likely will be neither NULL nor IS_ERR() and so may end up being dereferenced (for example: in dev_to_swnode()). Set fwnode->secondary to NULL on initialization. While at it: initialize the remaining fields of struct fwnode_handle too just to be sure. [ Fix typo in commit message. - Danilo ]

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

The underlying weakness: Improper Initialization

The product does not initialize or incorrectly initializes a resource.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, in Java, if the programmer does not explicitly initialize a variable, then the code could produce a compile-time error (if the variable is local) or automatically initialize the variable to the default value for the variable's type. In Perl, if explicit initialization is not performed, then a default value of undef is assigned, which is interpreted as 0, false, or an equivalent value depending on the context in which the variable is accessed.
  • Identify all variables and data stores that receive information from external sources, and apply input validation to make sure that they are only initialized to expected values.
  • Explicitly initialize all your variables and other data stores, either during declaration or just before the first usage.

More Improper Initialization vulnerabilities (CWE-665)

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 Improper Initialization vulnerabilities

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