Vulnerability · Published Aug 10, 2026 · Assigned by Linux

CVE-2026-68178misc: nsm: pin the module while the device is open

High 7.8

In plain English

A high-severity use-after-free in Linux from Linux. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.2% (higher than 6% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)7.8High
Exploit odds (30 days)0.2%top 94.3% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: misc: nsm: pin the module while the device is open misc_open() installs a misc driver's file operations with fops_get(), which pins file_operations::owner before replacing the file's f_op. The NSM misc device leaves nsm_dev_fops.owner unset, so opening /dev/nsm does not take a module reference on the nsm driver. If the driver is built as a module, an open file descriptor can therefore survive rmmod of the module that provides its ioctl callbacks. A later ioctl through that descriptor can call into unloaded module text. Set nsm_dev_fops.owner to THIS_MODULE so the misc core holds the module while any /dev/nsm file descriptor is open, matching the lifetime expectation for the installed file operations.

Affected packages & fixed versions

EcosystemPackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian:13linux6.12.101-1DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68178
Debian:14linux7.1.6-1DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68178
Debian:12linux-6.126.12.101-1~deb12u1DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux6.8.0-147.147UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux7.0.0-38.38UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-allwinner-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-aws6.8.0-1067.70UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-aws7.0.0-1014.14UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-aws-7.07.0.0-1014.14~24.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure6.8.0-1071.79UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-azure7.0.0-1017.17UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-7.07.0.0-1017.17~24.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde6.8.0-1069.76UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde7.0.0-1016.16UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-7.07.0.0-1016.16~24.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-nvidiano fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-nvidia-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp6.8.0-1071.79UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-gcp7.0.0-1014.14UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-7.07.0.0-1014.14~24.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gke6.8.0-1066.74UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-gke7.0.0-1008.9UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gkeop6.8.0-1052.56UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-7.07.0.0-38.38~24.04.4UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-ibm6.8.0-1067.68UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-ibm7.0.0-1015.15UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-ibm-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-intel-iot-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency6.8.0-147.147.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidiano fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-nvidiano fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-7.07.0.0-1024.25~24.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-bos7.0.0-2022.23UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-lowlatencyno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-tegra6.8.0-1036.39UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-5.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.0no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.1no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-oem-7.07.0.0-1015.15UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oracle6.8.0-1064.67UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-oracle7.0.0-1013.13UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oracle-7.07.0.0-1013.13~24.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-raspino fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-raspino fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-raspi-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-realtime7.0.0-38.38.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscvno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscvno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-riscv7.0.0-38.38.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscv-7.07.0.0-38.38.1~24.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-vmware6.8.0-1008.8UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-xilinxno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-68178

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
Linux Linux b9873755a6c8ccfce79094c4dce9efa3ecb1a749 – before 1996639f824ce9468395cdb7bcb8f467fa787e77b9873755a6c8ccfce79094c4dce9efa3ecb1a749 – before 1da310b94504d42001e9c32c43c5dc105b777e5fb9873755a6c8ccfce79094c4dce9efa3ecb1a749 – before 9e9a82d00c3d10129fc310a7547b24a679d5d920b9873755a6c8ccfce79094c4dce9efa3ecb1a749 – before 3b231f1e9990f4c21220d0a69733ce2105891ff9
Linux Linux 6.8

Weakness: CWE-416 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References