CVE-2026-68357

Memory corruption via dangling default governor pointer

Published Aug 10, 2026 · Updated Aug 10, 2026

Use-after-free in the Linux watchdog pretimeout framework allows local users to trigger stale governor-pointer access during governor removal. watchdog_unregister_governor() leaves default_gov pointing to the removed governor, then assigns that dangling pointer to existing or newly registered watchdog devices. Reachability requires privileged removal of a watchdog pretimeout governor that is also the default; the published record does not specify the resulting impact.

CVSS severity6.7
Medium
EPSS probability0.18%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in the Linux watchdog pretimeout framework allows local users to trigger stale governor-pointer access during governor removal. watchdog_unregister_governor() leaves default_gov pointing to the removed governor, then assigns that dangling pointer to existing or newly registered watchdog devices. Reachability requires privileged removal of a watchdog pretimeout governor that is also the default; the published record does not specify the resulting impact.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-68357
Published
Aug 10, 2026
Updated
Aug 10, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

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=4.9
  2. Affected versionversion=da0d12ff2b829a35e9921918e925d79497b82bef <0ca252720f0e38411cfec3431db9bb1aed0a412c
  3. Affected versionversion=da0d12ff2b829a35e9921918e925d79497b82bef <2e47b91b9b4020fcc01def14d6b6556d66074cf4
  4. Affected versionversion=da0d12ff2b829a35e9921918e925d79497b82bef <7362ba0f9c96ac3ad6a2ca3995bd9fc9a28a8661
  5. Affected versionversion=da0d12ff2b829a35e9921918e925d79497b82bef <7993d626983cc58fbde9607333cfd2d57725c197
  6. Affected versionversion=da0d12ff2b829a35e9921918e925d79497b82bef <7d1658b066de30f4b23afc14814d22416a971e6e

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.9; version=da0d12ff2b829a35e9921918e925d79497b82bef <0ca252720f0e38411cfec3431db9bb1aed0a412c; version=da0d12ff2b829a35e9921918e925d79497b82bef <2e47b91b9b4020fcc01def14d6b6556d66074cf4; version=da0d12ff2b829a35e9921918e925d79497b82bef <7362ba0f9c96ac3ad6a2ca3995bd9fc9a28a8661; version=da0d12ff2b829a35e9921918e925d79497b82bef <7993d626983cc58fbde9607333cfd2d57725c197; version=da0d12ff2b829a35e9921918e925d79497b82bef <7d1658b066de30f4b23afc14814d22416a971e6e

Published CVSS scores

6.7Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/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.

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
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

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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