CVE-2026-68428

Host crash via stale KVM cache pointer

Published Aug 10, 2026 · Updated Aug 10, 2026

Use-after-free in x86 KVM MMU cache cleanup in affected Linux kernels allows local users to crash the host during module reload. mmu_destroy_caches() destroys two slab caches without nulling both stored pointers, so a later failed vendor-module initialization passes a freed cache pointer to kmem_cache_destroy(). Exploitation requires privileges to load and unload KVM vendor modules and an allocation-failure path; the demonstrated consequence is a host crash.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.16%
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 x86 KVM MMU cache cleanup in affected Linux kernels allows local users to crash the host during module reload. mmu_destroy_caches() destroys two slab caches without nulling both stored pointers, so a later failed vendor-module initialization passes a freed cache pointer to kmem_cache_destroy(). Exploitation requires privileges to load and unload KVM vendor modules and an allocation-failure path; the demonstrated consequence is a host crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-68428
Published
Aug 10, 2026
Updated
Aug 10, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-825, T1499
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=2.6.25
  2. Affected versionversion=cb498ea2ce1d3f3c0bc0a2522241dca10263e437 <32b9f89ed9e6d7a45075d64089c254a7f6e13695
  3. Affected versionversion=cb498ea2ce1d3f3c0bc0a2522241dca10263e437 <43cfb20d62ffe49626d62beecfc32eb6f262191c
  4. Affected versionversion=cb498ea2ce1d3f3c0bc0a2522241dca10263e437 <52f2f7c30126037975389aa04d24c506a5177c35
  5. Affected versionversion=cb498ea2ce1d3f3c0bc0a2522241dca10263e437 <6f4be73880302d5642c83a0813fdfe1f5fd4b6e3
  6. Affected versionversion=cb498ea2ce1d3f3c0bc0a2522241dca10263e437 <ec9daa8fd1b6f45545c9839dca55bd867fad9e13

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=2.6.25; version=cb498ea2ce1d3f3c0bc0a2522241dca10263e437 <32b9f89ed9e6d7a45075d64089c254a7f6e13695; version=cb498ea2ce1d3f3c0bc0a2522241dca10263e437 <43cfb20d62ffe49626d62beecfc32eb6f262191c; version=cb498ea2ce1d3f3c0bc0a2522241dca10263e437 <52f2f7c30126037975389aa04d24c506a5177c35; version=cb498ea2ce1d3f3c0bc0a2522241dca10263e437 <6f4be73880302d5642c83a0813fdfe1f5fd4b6e3; version=cb498ea2ce1d3f3c0bc0a2522241dca10263e437 <ec9daa8fd1b6f45545c9839dca55bd867fad9e13

Published CVSS scores

4.7Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H
5.5Oracle LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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

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)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-825Expired Pointer Dereference
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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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