Linux Kernel up to 7.2-rc4 arm64 syscall syscall_get_arguments privileges management

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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8.7$0-$5k1.65

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.147/6.12.100/6.18.41/7.1.5/7.2-rc4. Affected by this issue is the function syscall_get_arguments of the component arm64 syscall. Executing a manipulation can lead to privileges management. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-68171. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. No exploit is available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.147/6.12.100/6.18.41/7.1.5/7.2-rc4. It has been declared as very critical. This vulnerability affects the function syscall_get_arguments of the component arm64 syscall. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a privileges management vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-269. The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arm64: syscall: Ensure saved x0 is kept in-sync with tracer updates When seccomp support was originally added to arm64 in a1ae65b21941 ("arm64: add seccomp support"), seccomp was erroneously called _before_ the ptrace syscall-enter-stop and therefore the tracer could trivially manipulate the syscall register state after the seccomp check had passed. This was subsequently fixed in a5cd110cb836 ("arm64/ptrace: run seccomp after ptrace") by moving the seccomp check after the tracer has run. Unfortunately, a decade later, that fix has been reported to be incomplete. On arm64, both the first argument to a syscall and its eventual return value are allocated to register x0. In order to facilitate syscall restarting and querying of syscall arguments on the syscall exit path, the original value of x0 is stashed in 'struct pt_regs::orig_x0' early during the syscall entry path and is returned for the first argument by syscall_get_arguments(). Unlike 32-bit Arm, this stashed value is not directly exposed via ptrace() and so changes to register x0 made by the tracer on a syscall-enter-stop are not reflected in 'orig_x0'. This means that seccomp, syscall tracepoints and audit can observe a stale value for the register compared to the argument that will be observed by the actual syscall. Re-sync 'orig_x0' from x0 on the syscall entry path following a potential ptrace stop (i.e. PTRACE_EVENTMSG_SYSCALL_ENTRY or SECCOMP_RET_TRACE). This behaviour is limited to native tasks (because compat tasks expose 'orig_r0' to ptrace) where the syscall is not being skipped (because x0 is updated to hold the return value of -ENOSYS in that case).

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-68171 since 07/30/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be initiated remotely. The exploitation requires an enhanced level of successful authentication. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 08/11/2026). The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1068.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 334410 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-68171), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.6.148, 6.12.101, 6.18.42, 7.1.6 or 7.2-rc5 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 8000a5f4d1d192f5bb3e4f29e7606a9460d376df/b7afd2a80593dde3f4a68c9a9f73752f9c340e85/64ab0964c7db949abbd3c56268a220e2b77f7b9e/e59c2476ef755221da31f4e26f6b89712ecf50f1/e057b94772328221405b067c3a85fe479b915dc8 is able to eliminate this problem.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (334410) and EUVD (EUVD-2026-55557). VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Productinfo

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CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 9.1
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 8.7

VulDB Base Score: 9.1
VulDB Temp Score: 8.7
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Privileges management
CWE: CWE-269 / CWE-266
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Nessus ID: 334410
Nessus Name: Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-68171

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.6.148/6.12.101/6.18.42/7.1.6/7.2-rc5
Patch: 8000a5f4d1d192f5bb3e4f29e7606a9460d376df/b7afd2a80593dde3f4a68c9a9f73752f9c340e85/64ab0964c7db949abbd3c56268a220e2b77f7b9e/e59c2476ef755221da31f4e26f6b89712ecf50f1/e057b94772328221405b067c3a85fe479b915dc8

Timelineinfo

07/30/2026 CVE reserved
08/10/2026 +11 days Advisory disclosed
08/10/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
08/11/2026 +1 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-68171 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-68171
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-387520
EUVD: 🔒

Entryinfo

Created: 08/10/2026 15:42
Updated: 08/11/2026 06:38
Changes: 08/10/2026 15:42 (59), 08/11/2026 04:48 (2), 08/11/2026 06:38 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

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