Linux Kernel up to 6.6.147/6.12.100/6.18.41/7.1.5 pwc pwc-driver.c start_streaming denial of service

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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Current Exploit Price (≈)
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CTI Interest Score
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8.7$0-$5k0.00

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. Impacted is the function start_streaming of the file drivers/media/usb/pwc/pwc-driver.c of the component pwc. The manipulation leads to denial of service. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-68216. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.147/6.12.100/6.18.41/7.1.5. It has been rated as very critical. This issue affects the function start_streaming of the file drivers/media/usb/pwc/pwc-driver.c of the component pwc. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a denial of service vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-404. The product does not release or incorrectly releases a resource before it is made available for re-use. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: pwc: Return queued buffers on start_streaming() failure The vb2 framework hands buffers to the driver via buf_queue() before calling start_streaming(). If start_streaming() returns an error without first returning those buffers via vb2_buffer_done(), vb2_start_streaming() fires WARN_ON(owned_by_drv_count) and the queued buffers leak. pwc's start_streaming() had two early returns that hit this trap: -ENODEV when the USB device was already disconnected, and -ERESTARTSYS when mutex_lock_interruptible() was interrupted by a signal. Call the existing pwc_cleanup_queued_bufs() helper with VB2_BUF_STATE_QUEUED before returning (matching the state already used by the pwc_isoc_init() error path in the same function). This mirrors the uvcvideo fix in commit 4cf3b6fd54eb ("media: uvcvideo: Return queued buffers on start_streaming() failure").

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-68216 since 07/30/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. 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 08/23/2026). MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1499 for this issue.

Upgrading to version 6.6.148, 6.12.101, 6.18.42, 7.1.6 or 7.2-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch f2f9fcacd81953dde6cb86312ab13ca13e689664/5d7cc2634c3843a1414a0f6407aa17f1f91dee60/cb16b79a2be2cec9c3ebe4147490817c4d8b1de3/a4f8f629983f643333e49df90557805469bcbb25/975b2ee20e569d47821e4f6c9761b4664d48a6a4 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Productinfo

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Version

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Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 8.9
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 8.7

VulDB Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CNA Base Score: 7.8
CNA Vector (Linux): 🔒

CVSSv2info

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

Exploitinginfo

Class: Denial of service
CWE: CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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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-rc1
Patch: f2f9fcacd81953dde6cb86312ab13ca13e689664/5d7cc2634c3843a1414a0f6407aa17f1f91dee60/cb16b79a2be2cec9c3ebe4147490817c4d8b1de3/a4f8f629983f643333e49df90557805469bcbb25/975b2ee20e569d47821e4f6c9761b4664d48a6a4

Timelineinfo

07/30/2026 CVE reserved
08/10/2026 +11 days Advisory disclosed
08/10/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
08/23/2026 +13 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-68216 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-68216
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-387557

Entryinfo

Created: 08/10/2026 16:09
Updated: 08/23/2026 06:50
Changes: 08/10/2026 16:09 (60), 08/23/2026 06:50 (11)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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