# 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.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 10 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 23 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-68181, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68181, GHSA-xmj6-8mrg-f8fx, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68181

## 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.

## Is CVE-2026-68181 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-68181 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-68181 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-68181 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-2026-68181/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68181/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-68181
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68181
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-68181

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68181/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.