CVE-2026-68203 media: vivid: fix cleanup bugs in vivid_init()
A reference leak and incorrect cleanup in the Linux kernel vivid driver can lead to memory corruption and denial of service.
- 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-2026-68203?
CVE-2026-68203 is a memory corruption 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:
media: vivid: fix cleanup bugs in vivid_init()
When platform_device_register() fails in vivid_init(), the embedded struct device in vivid_pdev has already been initialized by device_initialize(), but the failure path jumps to free_output_strings without dropping the device reference for the current platform device:
vivid_init() -> platform_device_register(&vivid_pdev) -> device_initialize(&vivid_pdev.dev) -> setup_pdev_dma_masks(&vivid_pdev) -> platform_device_add(&vivid_pdev)
This leads to a reference leak when platform_device_register() fails. Fix this by calling platform_device_put() before jumping to the common cleanup path.
Also, the unreg_driver label incorrectly calls platform_driver_register() instead of platform_driver_unregister(), which breaks cleanup when workqueue creation fails after successful driver registration. Fix that as well.
The reference leak was identified by a static analysis tool I developed and confirmed by manual review. The incorrect cleanup call was found during code inspection.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-68203?
How do I fix CVE-2026-68203?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2026-68203 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-68203 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-95166, BELL-CVE-2026-68203, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68203, GHSA-m883-8hm9-jvgx, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68203.