CVE-2026-68178 (GCVE-0-2026-68178)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5
Published
2026-08-10 11:59
Modified
2026-08-17 05:00
Severity ?
VLAI Severity ?
EPSS score ?
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
misc: nsm: pin the module while the device is open
misc_open() installs a misc driver's file operations with fops_get(),
which pins file_operations::owner before replacing the file's f_op. The
NSM misc device leaves nsm_dev_fops.owner unset, so opening /dev/nsm does
not take a module reference on the nsm driver.
If the driver is built as a module, an open file descriptor can therefore
survive rmmod of the module that provides its ioctl callbacks. A later
ioctl through that descriptor can call into unloaded module text.
Set nsm_dev_fops.owner to THIS_MODULE so the misc core holds the module
while any /dev/nsm file descriptor is open, matching the lifetime
expectation for the installed file operations.
References
| URL | Tags | |
|---|---|---|
Impacted products
{
"containers": {
"cna": {
"affected": [
{
"defaultStatus": "unaffected",
"product": "Linux",
"programFiles": [
"drivers/misc/nsm.c"
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"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
"vendor": "Linux",
"versions": [
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"versionType": "git"
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{
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"version": "b9873755a6c8ccfce79094c4dce9efa3ecb1a749",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
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"status": "affected",
"version": "b9873755a6c8ccfce79094c4dce9efa3ecb1a749",
"versionType": "git"
}
]
},
{
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"product": "Linux",
"programFiles": [
"drivers/misc/nsm.c"
],
"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
"vendor": "Linux",
"versions": [
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "6.8"
},
{
"lessThan": "6.8",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "0",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.12.101",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.18.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.18.42",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "7.1.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "7.1.6",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "7.2",
"versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
}
]
}
],
"cpeApplicability": [
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"nodes": [
{
"cpeMatch": [
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"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.12.101",
"versionStartIncluding": "6.8",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.18.42",
"versionStartIncluding": "6.8",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "7.1.6",
"versionStartIncluding": "6.8",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
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}
],
"negate": false,
"operator": "OR"
}
]
}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nmisc: nsm: pin the module while the device is open\n\nmisc_open() installs a misc driver\u0027s file operations with fops_get(),\nwhich pins file_operations::owner before replacing the file\u0027s f_op. The\nNSM misc device leaves nsm_dev_fops.owner unset, so opening /dev/nsm does\nnot take a module reference on the nsm driver.\n\nIf the driver is built as a module, an open file descriptor can therefore\nsurvive rmmod of the module that provides its ioctl callbacks. A later\nioctl through that descriptor can call into unloaded module text.\n\nSet nsm_dev_fops.owner to THIS_MODULE so the misc core holds the module\nwhile any /dev/nsm file descriptor is open, matching the lifetime\nexpectation for the installed file operations."
}
],
"metrics": [
{
"cvssV3_1": {
"baseScore": 7.8,
"baseSeverity": "HIGH",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"version": "3.1"
},
"scenarios": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "AV:L - The bug is reached only via local open()/ioctl syscalls on /dev/nsm (misc_open through vfs_ioctl to nsm_dev_ioctl); the Nitro Secure Module virtio driver has no network, adjacent-wireless, or physical attack surface.\nAC:L - When CONFIG_NSM=m the attacker controls the full sequence: open /dev/nsm to install fops, delete_module(\"nsm\") while fops_get(NULL) leaves the module unpinned, then ioctl on the stale fd to call unloaded text without races or external timing.\nPR:L - /dev/nsm is registered mode 0666 with no capable() checks in nsm_dev_ioctl, so any local process can open and ioctl; unloading the module needs CAP_SYS_MODULE, treated as low-privilege local capability per similar module-lifetime UAF scoring on permissive/user-namespace kernels.\nUI:N - The attacker performs open, module removal, and stale-fd ioctl from their own process; no separate victim must mount a filesystem, click a link, or take any action beyond the attacker\u0027s own operations.\nS:U - The use-after-free corrupts guest kernel memory and executes in kernel context within the Nitro Enclave; impact does not cross hypervisor, parent-instance, VM, or IOMMU security boundaries.\nC:H - Stale ioctl calls into freed module text and file_to_nsm() dereferences freed devm nsm state, exposing reclaimed kernel/module memory and adjacent virtio message buffers through the UAF window.\nI:H - Dispatching nsm_dev_ioctl through freed vmalloc module text is a kernel use-after-free that can be shaped with heap spraying to hijack control flow and achieve arbitrary kernel code execution.\nA:H - Executing code from an unloaded module or dereferencing freed nsm/virtqueue state on ioctl reliably causes kernel oops or panic, and the attacker can repeat the stale-fd ioctl to deny service."
}
]
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-08-17T05:00:19.564Z",
"orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"shortName": "Linux"
},
"references": [
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1996639f824ce9468395cdb7bcb8f467fa787e77"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1da310b94504d42001e9c32c43c5dc105b777e5f"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9e9a82d00c3d10129fc310a7547b24a679d5d920"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3b231f1e9990f4c21220d0a69733ce2105891ff9"
}
],
"title": "misc: nsm: pin the module while the device is open",
"x_generator": {
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}
}
},
"cveMetadata": {
"assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"assignerShortName": "Linux",
"cveId": "CVE-2026-68178",
"datePublished": "2026-08-10T11:59:49.344Z",
"dateReserved": "2026-07-30T09:28:09.373Z",
"dateUpdated": "2026-08-17T05:00:19.564Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
},
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2"
}
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Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or seen somewhere by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability is confirmed from an analyst perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: This vulnerability was exploited and seen by the user reporting the sighting.
- Patched: This vulnerability was successfully patched by the user reporting the sighting.
- Not exploited: This vulnerability was not exploited or seen by the user reporting the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expresses doubt about the veracity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: This vulnerability was not successfully patched by the user reporting the sighting.
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