What is CVE-2026-68409?

CVE-2026-68409 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 8.8 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 6.0 onward and patched in 6.18.42, 7.1.6 and 7.2. CVE-2026-68409 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-68409?

CVE-2026-68409 has a CVSS score of 8.8 out of 10, rated High severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-68409?

Yes, CVE-2026-68409 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.42, 7.1.6 and 7.2. If you are running Linux kernel 6.0 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-68409 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-68409 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2026-68409

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: defer link RX stats percpu free to RCU sta_remove_link() frees a removed MLO link's RX stats percpu buffer right away, but defers only the link container to RCU: sta_info_free_link(&alloc->info); kfree_rcu(alloc, rcu_head); The RX fast path reads link_sta under rcu_read_lock and writes the percpu stats. A reader that resolved link_sta before the removal keeps the pointer. The container stays alive from the kfree_rcu, so the read still works. But the percpu block it points to is already freed. This needs uses_rss. That is when pcpu_rx_stats exists. The full STA teardown frees the deflink stats only after synchronize_net(). The link removal path had no such barrier. The race is hard to win in practice, but the free should still wait for RCU. Free the link together with its data from a single RCU callback, so the percpu block is reclaimed only after readers drain.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-08-10

Last modified 2026-08-17

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

8.8

out of 10

High

Attack Vector

Adjacent

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Vector string

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.0 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.18.42, 7.1.6, 7.2 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 6.0

Fixed in

✓ 6.18.42 6.18.x ✓ 7.1.6 7.1.x ✓ 7.2

References

3 total

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-68409

Severity High

CVSS score 8.8 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-08-10

Modified 2026-08-17

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-68409?

CVE-2026-68409 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 8.8 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.0 onward and has been patched in 6.18.42, 7.1.6 and 7.2. CVE-2026-68409 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-68409?

CVE-2026-68409 has a CVSS score of 8.8 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-68409?

Yes. CVE-2026-68409 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.42, 7.1.6 and 7.2. If you are running Linux kernel 6.0 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-68409 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2026-68409 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.