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CVE-2026-68461
device property: initialize the remaining fields of fwnode_handle in fwnode_init()
Published 2026-08-15 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem include/linux. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-68461 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | fixed | 6.1.180-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.1.180-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixed | 6.12.96-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.96-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.1.5-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.5-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.1.5-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.5-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
If a firmware node is allocated on the stack (for instance: temporary software node whose life-time we control) or on the heap - but using a non-zeroing allocation function - and initialized using fwnode_init(), its secondary pointer will contain uninitialized memory which likely will be neither NULL nor IS_ERR() and so may end up being dereferenced (for example: in dev_to_swnode()). Set fwnode->secondary to NULL on initialization. While at it: initialize the remaining fields of struct fwnode_handle too just to be sure. [ Fix typo in commit message. - Danilo ]
Where it lives
The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.
include/linux/fwnode.h
- What this is
- ACPIMAINTAINERS section matched on include/linux/fwnode.h · linux-acpi@vger.kernel.org · Supported
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Not established. This site could not find the build rule for the affected file in the kernel trees Debian ships, so it has no answer about whether Debian compiles this code. Read that as unknown, never as absent.
- bookworm, trixie, forky, sid?
- ?
- not established - no Makefile entry for the affected file
Where a release above reads "not established", no build rule for the affected file was found in that release's kernel tree. That is a gap in this lookup, not a finding that the code is absent.
From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS
Signals
- Published
- 2026-08-15 (2 months ago)source
- CVSS
- 7.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- local (AV:L)source
- EPSS
- 0.18%, higher than 6.6% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- include/linux
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 5.11 | 5.15.212 | 0198d5799483 |
| 5.11 | 6.1.178 | 173b61c9276c |
| 5.11 | 6.6.145 | f0b4e1cc8ad7 |
| 5.11 | 6.12.96 | c8542b68ba6e |
| 5.11 | 6.18.39 | 9c86a1f930bb |
| 5.11 | 7.1.5 | c81e2af41de6 |
| 5.11 | 7.2 | 7eba000621ff |
Why the CNA scored it this way
Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source
- AV:LAttack vector, local
- The flaw is in fwnode_init() in the driver-core firmware-node layer; uninitialized fwnode->secondary is consumed in dev_to_swnode() and fwnode_property_*() during local device probe, property lookups, and configfs-driven gpio-sim/gpio-virtuser software-node creation—never from a network packet or remote protocol handler.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- Once a fwnode_handle is placed in non-zeroed stack or kmalloc storage and passed through fwnode_init(), the uninitialized secondary pointer is deterministically non-NULL and non-IS_ERR(), and property helpers immediately pass it to fwnode_call_*_op() without further validation—no race, heap grooming, or victim timing is required.
- PR:LPrivileges required, low
- No init-namespace root is required to reach the dereference paths: fwnode_property_present() and dev_to_swnode() run during automatic driver probe/bind and consumer property resolution (GPIO/IIO/reset/v4l2-fwnode) that a local unprivileged user can trigger by opening device nodes or causing driver binding on embedded/Android systems using software nodes.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- The garbage secondary pointer is dereferenced automatically inside kernel property lookups and dev_to_swnode() during probe or device registration; no separate victim action such as mounting media, clicking a prompt, or opening a malicious file is needed beyond the affected driver path executing.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- Impact is confined to kernel memory corruption and crashes within the host kernel's own security authority during firmware-node property handling; it does not cross VM, IOMMU, container, or sandbox boundaries.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- An uninitialized secondary is treated as a live fwnode_handle pointer; fwnode_call_bool_op()/fwnode_call_int_op() evaluate fwnode->ops on attacker-influenced stack or slab residue, reading kernel memory through misinterpreted ops tables rather than a bounded disclosure.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- The same garbage secondary is passed into fwnode_call_*_op() and set_secondary_fwnode()/fwnode_is_primary() logic; a non-NULL, non-ERR value with plausible ops and list-head residue enables indirect calls and list manipulation—control-flow-relevant memory corruption per CNA guidance for uninitialized pointer use in fwnode plumbing.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Dereferencing an uninitialized secondary in dev_to_swnode() or fwnode_property_*() causes an immediate kernel oops/panic from a bad pointer or invalid ops dispatch; the fault is repeatable whenever the affected fwnode initialization path is exercised.