CVE-2026-68449

System hang via NCQ tag bit-scanning overflow

Published Aug 12, 2026 · Updated Aug 12, 2026

Denial of service in the sata_dwc_460ex driver in Linux allows local users to hang or crash systems during NCQ completion. Its completion loop left-shifts a high-bit-only tag_mask until it becomes zero, then loops forever in hardirq context while holding a spinlock. Reachability requires local access and use of the affected SATA controller path with an NCQ completion mask whose low bits are clear.

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

Denial of service in the sata_dwc_460ex driver in Linux allows local users to hang or crash systems during NCQ completion. Its completion loop left-shifts a high-bit-only tag_mask until it becomes zero, then loops forever in hardirq context while holding a spinlock. Reachability requires local access and use of the affected SATA controller path with an NCQ completion mask whose low bits are clear.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-68449
Published
Aug 12, 2026
Updated
Aug 12, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-835, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 12, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 12, 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=2.6.36
  2. Affected versionversion=62936009f35a6659cc3ebe0d90c754182d60da73 <1842d45f461a78988254631893329bdf4596e954
  3. Affected versionversion=62936009f35a6659cc3ebe0d90c754182d60da73 <29b916d3556bd12a95be7c56ca391b8cd572f8be
  4. Affected versionversion=62936009f35a6659cc3ebe0d90c754182d60da73 <4c6e64cae2b2dab32ad9099faa339f6a72c0ce16
  5. Affected versionversion=62936009f35a6659cc3ebe0d90c754182d60da73 <8c5de0d8ab6824cfdadcbbe1be4c6c9d9f4c1f80
  6. Affected versionversion=62936009f35a6659cc3ebe0d90c754182d60da73 <c2130f6553f4a5cbdc259de069600117a995f197

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=2.6.36; version=62936009f35a6659cc3ebe0d90c754182d60da73 <1842d45f461a78988254631893329bdf4596e954; version=62936009f35a6659cc3ebe0d90c754182d60da73 <29b916d3556bd12a95be7c56ca391b8cd572f8be; version=62936009f35a6659cc3ebe0d90c754182d60da73 <4c6e64cae2b2dab32ad9099faa339f6a72c0ce16; version=62936009f35a6659cc3ebe0d90c754182d60da73 <8c5de0d8ab6824cfdadcbbe1be4c6c9d9f4c1f80; version=62936009f35a6659cc3ebe0d90c754182d60da73 <c2130f6553f4a5cbdc259de069600117a995f197

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-835Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')
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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