Linux Kernel up to 6.1.159/6.6.119/6.12.63/6.18.2 media vidtv_channel_si_init use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.159/6.6.119/6.12.63/6.18.2. This affects the function vidtv_channel_si_init of the component media. This manipulation causes use after free. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2025-68808. No exploit is available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.159/6.6.119/6.12.63/6.18.2. Affected by this vulnerability is the function vidtv_channel_si_init of the component media. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: vidtv: initialize local pointers upon transfer of memory ownership vidtv_channel_si_init() creates a temporary list (program, service, event) and ownership of the memory itself is transferred to the PAT/SDT/EIT tables through vidtv_psi_pat_program_assign(), vidtv_psi_sdt_service_assign(), vidtv_psi_eit_event_assign(). The problem here is that the local pointer where the memory ownership transfer was completed is not initialized to NULL. This causes the vidtv_psi_pmt_create_sec_for_each_pat_entry() function to fail, and in the flow that jumps to free_eit, the memory that was freed by vidtv_psi_*_table_destroy() can be accessed again by vidtv_psi_*_event_destroy() due to the uninitialized local pointer, so it is freed once again. Therefore, to prevent use-after-free and double-free vulnerability, local pointers must be initialized to NULL when transferring memory ownership.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2025-68808 since 12/24/2025. The exploitation appears to be easy. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 03/27/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 298659 (Debian dla-4476 : linux-config-6.1 - security update), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.1.160, 6.6.120, 6.12.64, 6.18.3 or 6.19-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 3caa18d35f1dabe85a3dd31bc387f391ac9f9b4e/fb9bd6d8d314b748e946ed6555eb4a956ee8c4d8/a69c7fd603bf5ad93177394fbd9711922ee81032/30f4d4e5224a9e44e9ceb3956489462319d804ce/98aabfe2d79f74613abc2b0b1cef08f97eaf5322 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (298659) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2026-0086). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.1.159
• 6.6.119
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.12.34
• 6.12.35
• 6.12.36
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.12.39
• 6.12.40
• 6.12.41
• 6.12.42
• 6.12.43
• 6.12.44
• 6.12.45
• 6.12.46
• 6.12.47
• 6.12.48
• 6.12.49
• 6.12.50
• 6.12.51
• 6.12.52
• 6.12.53
• 6.12.54
• 6.12.55
• 6.12.56
• 6.12.57
• 6.12.58
• 6.12.59
• 6.12.60
• 6.12.61
• 6.12.62
• 6.12.63
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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