# CVE-2026-68223: media: meson: vdec: Fix memory leak in error path of vdec_open

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel's Meson video decoder driver allows local attackers to exhaust system memory, 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-2026-68223, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68223, GHSA-pjqw-98xm-c848, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68223

## What is CVE-2026-68223?

CVE-2026-68223 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: meson: vdec: Fix memory leak in error path of vdec_open

The vdec_open() function previously jumped directly to
err_m2m_release when vdec_init_ctrls() failed, skipping
release of the m2m context. This caused a resource leak.

Fix it by introducing a proper err_m2m_ctx_release label
that calls v4l2_m2m_ctx_release(sess->m2m_ctx) before
releasing the m2m device.

This was identified via kmemleak:
unreferenced object 0xffff0000205d6878 (size 8):
  comm "v4l_id", pid 5289, jiffies 4294938580
  hex dump (first 8 bytes):
    40 d2 49 18 00 00 ff ff                          @.I.....
  backtrace (crc d3204599):
    kmemleak_alloc+0xc8/0xf0
    __kvmalloc_node_noprof+0x60c/0x850
    v4l2_ctrl_handler_init_class+0x1b4/0x2e8 [videodev]
    vdec_open+0x1f4/0x788 [meson_vdec]
    v4l2_open+0x144/0x460 [videodev]
    chrdev_open+0x1ac/0x500
    do_dentry_open+0x3f0/0xfe8
    vfs_open+0x68/0x320
    do_open+0x2d8/0x9a8
    path_openat+0x1d0/0x4f0
    do_filp_open+0x190/0x380
    do_sys_openat2+0xf8/0x1b0
    __arm64_sys_openat+0x13c/0x1e8
    invoke_syscall+0xdc/0x268
    el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0x178/0x258
    do_el0_svc+0x4c/0x70

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-68223?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-68223?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-68223 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-68223 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-68223 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-68223 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-68223 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-2026-68223/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68223/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-68223
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68223
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-68223

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68223/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.