Linux Kernel up to 7.2-rc4 mei mei_cl_bus_dev_release use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
9.5	$5k-$25k	1.65

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as very critical has been detected in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.147/6.12.100/6.18.41/7.1.5/7.2-rc4. Affected is the function mei_cl_bus_dev_release of the component mei. This manipulation causes use after free. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-68181. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. There is no exploit 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. Affected by this vulnerability is the function mei_cl_bus_dev_release of the component mei. 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: mei: bus: access mei_device under device_lock on cleanup Fix couple of problems in mei_cl_bus_dev_release(): mei_cl_flush_queues() is running without lock. bus->file_list access after mei_dev_bus_put(bus) can become a use-after-free if this was the last reference to bus. Protect queues cleanup and WARN traversal by device lock there to avoid the concurrent access problems. Move WARN traversal before mei_dev_bus_put(bus). This file uses bus variable name for mei_device, adjust code of mei_cl_bus_dev_release() to use bus variable too.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-68181 since 07/30/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/10/2026).

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 441559d4c595f839b39f0ab6a4ae628427c2fd9e/c88c030a324c9018b77894a19b2564eb66862020/59dd34854202d9a3faaa87a85205e553fe7150e1/7cf79e8d682fe93777268f029668ce5e214237fd/f112ea910e554d58b4b39a4492b7d302f0f4204f is able to eliminate this problem.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.0
• 6.1
• 6.2
• 6.3
• 6.4
• 6.5
• 6.6
• 6.6.147
• 6.7
• 6.8
• 6.9
• 6.10
• 6.11
• 6.12.100
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 6.18.40
• 6.18.41
• 7.1.0
• 7.1.1
• 7.1.2
• 7.1.3
• 7.1.4
• 7.1.5
• 7.2-rc1
• 7.2-rc2
• 7.2-rc3
• 7.2-rc4

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 9.9
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5

VulDB Base Score: 9.9
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

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

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

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

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

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: 441559d4c595f839b39f0ab6a4ae628427c2fd9e/c88c030a324c9018b77894a19b2564eb66862020/59dd34854202d9a3faaa87a85205e553fe7150e1/7cf79e8d682fe93777268f029668ce5e214237fd/f112ea910e554d58b4b39a4492b7d302f0f4204f

Timelineinfo

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

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-68181 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-68181
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-387529

Entryinfo

Created: 08/10/2026 15:47
Changes: 08/10/2026 15:47 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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

Discussion

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