CVE-2026-68124

Kernel heap corruption via zero-length MCTP serial frames

Published Aug 10, 2026 · Updated Aug 10, 2026

Out-of-bounds write in the Linux kernel MCTP serial driver allows attackers to corrupt kernel heap memory with a zero-length frame. The receive state machine accepts a zero length, enters STATE_DATA, and increments rxpos before checking it, so bytes pass the fixed 74-byte rxbuf. CAP_NET_ADMIN is required to attach N_MCTP and bring mctpserialN up; once configured, an adjacent MCTP peer can trigger kernel corruption, panic, or code execution.

CVSS severity9.6
Critical
EPSS probability0.34%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Out-of-bounds write in the Linux kernel MCTP serial driver allows attackers to corrupt kernel heap memory with a zero-length frame. The receive state machine accepts a zero length, enters STATE_DATA, and increments rxpos before checking it, so bytes pass the fixed 74-byte rxbuf. CAP_NET_ADMIN is required to attach N_MCTP and bring mctpserialN up; once configured, an adjacent MCTP peer can trigger kernel corruption, panic, or code execution.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-68124
Published
Aug 10, 2026
Updated
Aug 10, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-787, T1210
Attack vector
adjacent
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 10, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 10, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=5.17
  2. Affected versionversion=a0c2ccd9b5ad0a9e838158404e041b5a8ff762dd <06a6b606129c8a25cd457760f5370f3ff01fe05d
  3. Affected versionversion=a0c2ccd9b5ad0a9e838158404e041b5a8ff762dd <36dc6d6964a3b90411cc7944cd9b8b6f67b9807b
  4. Affected versionversion=a0c2ccd9b5ad0a9e838158404e041b5a8ff762dd <68819427bc07eca7963a9e8be19e5272cc29186c
  5. Affected versionversion=a0c2ccd9b5ad0a9e838158404e041b5a8ff762dd <793b9b729f1e8de57be8c8daf1a9838be96cabed
  6. Affected versionversion=a0c2ccd9b5ad0a9e838158404e041b5a8ff762dd <f80ba170d7b3a44e3d244a2c8e06031d61bf3b23

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectoradjacent
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.17; version=a0c2ccd9b5ad0a9e838158404e041b5a8ff762dd <06a6b606129c8a25cd457760f5370f3ff01fe05d; version=a0c2ccd9b5ad0a9e838158404e041b5a8ff762dd <36dc6d6964a3b90411cc7944cd9b8b6f67b9807b; version=a0c2ccd9b5ad0a9e838158404e041b5a8ff762dd <68819427bc07eca7963a9e8be19e5272cc29186c; version=a0c2ccd9b5ad0a9e838158404e041b5a8ff762dd <793b9b729f1e8de57be8c8daf1a9838be96cabed; version=a0c2ccd9b5ad0a9e838158404e041b5a8ff762dd <f80ba170d7b3a44e3d244a2c8e06031d61bf3b23

Published CVSS scores

9.6LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectoradjacent
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write
T1210Exploitation of Remote Services

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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