CVE-2026-68242

Local system crash via uninitialized context release

Published Aug 10, 2026 · Updated Aug 10, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's i915 execlists code allows local users to crash affected systems through an IOCTL. In execlists_create_virtual(), allocation failure invokes intel_context_put() before intel_context_init(), causing kref_put() to dereference NULL. A local low-privilege user must reach the affected i915 IOCTL path and induce the allocation failure; the reported consequence is a kernel crash, not data access or modification.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.19%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's i915 execlists code allows local users to crash affected systems through an IOCTL. In execlists_create_virtual(), allocation failure invokes intel_context_put() before intel_context_init(), causing kref_put() to dereference NULL. A local low-privilege user must reach the affected i915 IOCTL path and induce the allocation failure; the reported consequence is a kernel crash, not data access or modification.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-68242
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

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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  1. Affected versionversion=3e28d37146db5dd49c469bc62a93ca791067d391 <82ec992c404c3dc774c5e9f3d4aa858e97187675
  2. Affected versionversion=3e28d37146db5dd49c469bc62a93ca791067d391 <edd4804f07b8369ed472de19272974e2bf2a6271
  3. Affected versionversion=5.15

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=3e28d37146db5dd49c469bc62a93ca791067d391 <82ec992c404c3dc774c5e9f3d4aa858e97187675; version=3e28d37146db5dd49c469bc62a93ca791067d391 <edd4804f07b8369ed472de19272974e2bf2a6271; version=5.15

Published CVSS scores

4.7Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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

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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)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Application 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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