# CVE-2026-68331: dpaa2-eth: put MAC endpoint device on disconnect

> A reference counting bug in the dpaa2-eth driver causes a memory leak on disconnect, potentially leading to resource exhaustion and denial of service.

- **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:** 19 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-68331, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68331, GHSA-5f2v-j4r4-vc2g, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68331

## What is CVE-2026-68331?

CVE-2026-68331 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:

dpaa2-eth: put MAC endpoint device on disconnect

fsl_mc_get_endpoint() returns the MAC endpoint device with a reference
taken through device_find_child(). The Ethernet connect path stores that
device in mac->mc_dev and keeps it for the lifetime of the connected MAC
object.

However, the disconnect path only disconnects and closes the MAC before
freeing the dpaa2_mac object. It does not drop the endpoint device
reference stored in mac->mc_dev, so every successful connect leaks that
device reference when the MAC is later disconnected.

Drop the endpoint device reference after closing the MAC and before
freeing the dpaa2_mac object.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-68331?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-68331?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-68331 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-68331 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-68331 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-68331 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-2026-68331 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-2026-68331/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68331/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-68331
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68331
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-68331

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68331/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.