# CVE-2026-68403: wifi: brcmfmac: initialize SDIO data work before cleanup

> A flaw in the Linux kernel brcmfmac Wi-Fi driver allows a local attacker to cause a denial of service via a null pointer dereference during device initialization failure.

- **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-2026-68403, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68403, GHSA-2jx9-wxwh-fv4q, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68403

## What is CVE-2026-68403?

CVE-2026-68403 is a 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:

wifi: brcmfmac: initialize SDIO data work before cleanup

brcmf_sdio_probe() stores the newly allocated bus in sdiodev->bus before
allocating the ordered workqueue. If that allocation fails, the function
jumps to fail and calls brcmf_sdio_remove().

brcmf_sdio_remove() unconditionally cancels bus->datawork. Initialize the
work item before the first failure path that can reach brcmf_sdio_remove(),
so the cleanup path always observes a valid work object.

This issue was found by our static analysis tool and then confirmed by
manual review of the probe error path and the remove-time work drain. The
problem pattern is an early setup failure that reaches a cleanup helper
which cancels an embedded work item before its initializer has run.

A QEMU PoC forced alloc_ordered_workqueue() to fail at the same point in
brcmf_sdio_probe(), before INIT_WORK(&bus->datawork) is reached. The
resulting fail path calls brcmf_sdio_remove(), and DEBUG_OBJECTS reports
the invalid work drain with brcmf_sdio_probe() and brcmf_sdio_remove() in
the stack.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-68403?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-68403?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-68403 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-68403 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-68403 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-68403 is a 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-2026-68403 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-2026-68403/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68403/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-68403
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68403
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-68403

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68403/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.