CVE-2026-68186

Local system crash via stale have_execfd state

Published Aug 10, 2026 · Updated Aug 10, 2026

A NULL pointer dereference in binfmt_misc in the Linux kernel allows local users to crash the system through a crafted interpreter entry. load_misc_binary sets have_execfd before opening the interpreter, then leaves it set after an ENOEXEC failure, causing begin_new_exec to dereference a NULL executable. Exploitation requires unprivileged access to user namespaces, an O-flag binfmt_misc registration, a FUSE-hosted interpreter, and execution of a matching native ELF file.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.21%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

A NULL pointer dereference in binfmt_misc in the Linux kernel allows local users to crash the system through a crafted interpreter entry. load_misc_binary sets have_execfd before opening the interpreter, then leaves it set after an ENOEXEC failure, causing begin_new_exec to dereference a NULL executable. Exploitation requires unprivileged access to user namespaces, an O-flag binfmt_misc registration, a FUSE-hosted interpreter, and execution of a matching native ELF file.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-68186
Published
Aug 10, 2026
Updated
Aug 10, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

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

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=5.8
  2. Affected versionversion=bc2bf338d54b7aadaed49bb45b9e10d4592b2a46 <0f19d54e2524f0bf183b82f365ae4e49b4a2f788
  3. Affected versionversion=bc2bf338d54b7aadaed49bb45b9e10d4592b2a46 <1cd4e9b7967dab48c9f79a00b06ffff7208c0993
  4. Affected versionversion=bc2bf338d54b7aadaed49bb45b9e10d4592b2a46 <2dd0298905e97795a9c5ec30cf5b41975f821632
  5. Affected versionversion=bc2bf338d54b7aadaed49bb45b9e10d4592b2a46 <5ccc99d58f94fad258c9c375715b3974e48620e8
  6. Affected versionversion=bc2bf338d54b7aadaed49bb45b9e10d4592b2a46 <bbf5f639918dc011aaf60aab8480218758ee68c5

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.8; version=bc2bf338d54b7aadaed49bb45b9e10d4592b2a46 <0f19d54e2524f0bf183b82f365ae4e49b4a2f788; version=bc2bf338d54b7aadaed49bb45b9e10d4592b2a46 <1cd4e9b7967dab48c9f79a00b06ffff7208c0993; version=bc2bf338d54b7aadaed49bb45b9e10d4592b2a46 <2dd0298905e97795a9c5ec30cf5b41975f821632; version=bc2bf338d54b7aadaed49bb45b9e10d4592b2a46 <5ccc99d58f94fad258c9c375715b3974e48620e8; version=bc2bf338d54b7aadaed49bb45b9e10d4592b2a46 <bbf5f639918dc011aaf60aab8480218758ee68c5

Published CVSS scores

5.5Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

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

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

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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