# CVE-2026-68316: accel: ethosu: Fix element size accounting for cmd stream validation

> Incorrect element size calculation in the Ethos-U accelerator driver can lead to buffer overflows, potentially allowing attackers to cause denial of service or execute arbitrary code.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68316, GHSA-35p7-3vg5-ccvp, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68316

## What is CVE-2026-68316?

CVE-2026-68316 is a high-severity 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:

accel: ethosu: Fix element size accounting for cmd stream validation

There are 2 issues with the element size handling in the command stream
validation which result in too small of a size calculated when the
element size is 16/32/64 bits.

For NHWC format, the element size is simply missing from the
calculation.

The bitfield for the element size is different between IFM/IFM2 and
OFM. IFM and IFM2 encode the precision in parameter bits 2:3, while OFM
uses bits 1:2.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-68316?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-68316?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-68316 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-68316 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-68316 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-68316 is a high-severity 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-2026-68316 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-2026-68316/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68316/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-68316
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68316
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-68316

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68316/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.