CVE-2026-68181 mei: bus: access mei_device under device_lock on cleanup
A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel MEI bus driver allows local attackers to cause denial of service or potentially execute code.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-68181?
CVE-2026-68181 is an use after free 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:
mei: bus: access mei_device under device_lock on cleanup
Fix couple of problems in mei_cl_bus_dev_release():
mei_cl_flush_queues() is running without lock. bus->file_list access after mei_dev_bus_put(bus) can become a use-after-free if this was the last reference to bus.
Protect queues cleanup and WARN traversal by device lock there to avoid the concurrent access problems. Move WARN traversal before mei_dev_bus_put(bus).
This file uses bus variable name for mei_device, adjust code of mei_cl_bus_dev_release() to use bus variable too.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-68181?
How do I fix CVE-2026-68181?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.
Is CVE-2026-68181 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-68181 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-68181, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68181, GHSA-xmj6-8mrg-f8fx, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68181.