# CVE-2026-68180: intel_th: fix MSC output device reference leak

> A reference leak in the Linux kernel Intel TH MSC driver allows local attackers to exhaust resources, potentially causing denial of service.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 10 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-68180, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68180, GHSA-qq33-46pr-rg4r, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68180

## What is CVE-2026-68180?

CVE-2026-68180 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 10 Aug 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

intel_th: fix MSC output device reference leak

intel_th_output_open() looks up the output device with
bus_find_device_by_devt(), which returns the device with a reference that
must be dropped after use.

commit 95fc36a234da ("intel_th: fix device leak on output open()")
attempted to drop the reference from intel_th_output_release(). However,
a successful open replaces file->f_op with the output driver file
operations before returning, so close runs the output driver release
callback instead.

For MSC outputs, close runs intel_th_msc_release(), which only removes
the per-file iterator and does not drop the device reference taken by
intel_th_output_open(). Consequently, every successful MSC output open
leaks one device reference.

Drop the device reference from intel_th_msc_release(), which is the
release path actually used for MSC output files. Remove the now-unused
intel_th_output_release() callback from intel_th_output_fops.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-68180?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-68180?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-68180 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-68180 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-68180 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-68180 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 10 Aug 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-68180 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68180/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68180/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-68180
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68180
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-68180

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68180/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.