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misc: nsm: only unlock nsm_dev on post-lock error paths

Type: advisorySources: OSV

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: misc: nsm: only unlock nsm_dev on post-lock error paths nsm_dev_ioctl() jumps to the common out label even when the initial copy_from_user() fails before nsm->lock has been taken. The error path then blindly unlocks a mutex that was never acquired. This issue was found by our static analysis tool and then manually reviewed against the current tree. The grounded PoC kept the miscdevice ioctl entry and the pre-lock copy_from_user(&raw, argp, _IOC_SIZE(cmd)) failure path by issuing NSM_IOCTL_RAW with an invalid user pointer. That failure reaches the shared out label before mutex_lock(&nsm->lock). Lockdep reported: WARNING: bad unlock balance detected! exploit/193 is trying to release lock (&global_nsm.lock) at: nsm_dev_ioctl+0x5f/0xcf [vuln_msv] but there are no more locks to release! no locks held by exploit/193. Return immediately on the pre-lock copy_from_user() failure and keep the common unlock label for the post-lock paths only.

Products
Kernel
Affected versions
Not specified
Fixed versions
6.12.101, 6.18.42, 7.1.6
CVEs
CVE-2026-68179
Confirmed fixed CVEs
Not specified
Updated in this feed
3 Nov 2026, 12:36 UTC · Revision 1

Source evidence

misc: nsm: only unlock nsm_dev on post-lock error paths

core-osv · Original source

Published 10 Aug 2026, 11:59 UTC

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: misc: nsm: only unlock nsm_dev on post-lock error paths nsm_dev_ioctl() jumps to the common out label even when the initial copy_from_user() fails before nsm->lock has been taken. The error path then blindly unlocks a mutex that was never acquired. This issue was found by our static analysis tool and then manually reviewed against the current tree. The grounded PoC kept the miscdevice ioctl entry and the pre-lock copy_from_user(&raw, argp, _IOC_SIZE(cmd)) failure path by issuing NSM_IOCTL_RAW with an invalid user pointer. That failure reaches the shared out label before mutex_lock(&nsm->lock). Lockdep reported: WARNING: bad unlock balance detected! exploit/193 is trying to release lock (&global_nsm.lock) at: nsm_dev_ioctl+0x5f/0xcf [vuln_msv] but there are no more locks to release! no locks held by exploit/193. Return immediately on the pre-lock copy_from_user() failure and keep the common unlock label for the post-lock paths only.

osv:CVE-2026-68179

Kernel

Fixed versions: 6.12.101, 6.18.42, 7.1.6

Complete source record
{
  "id": "91fdd217184e292c7a6d6ce3273e6e07dbe32096833e156a0cdf01cc2c94eecb",
  "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-68179",
  "method": "structured",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "advisory",
    "title": "misc: nsm: only unlock nsm_dev on post-lock error paths",
    "summary": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: misc: nsm: only unlock nsm_dev on post-lock error paths nsm_dev_ioctl() jumps to the common out label even when the initial copy_from_user() fails before nsm->lock has been taken. The error path then blindly unlocks a mutex that was never acquired. This issue was found by our static analysis tool and then manually reviewed against the current tree. The grounded PoC kept the miscdevice ioctl entry and the pre-lock copy_from_user(&raw, argp, _IOC_SIZE(cmd)) failure path by issuing NSM_IOCTL_RAW with an invalid user pointer. That failure reaches the shared out label before mutex_lock(&nsm->lock). Lockdep reported: WARNING: bad unlock balance detected! exploit/193 is trying to release lock (&global_nsm.lock) at: nsm_dev_ioctl+0x5f/0xcf [vuln_msv] but there are no more locks to release! no locks held by exploit/193. Return immediately on the pre-lock copy_from_user() failure and keep the common unlock label for the post-lock paths only.",
    "evidence": "osv:CVE-2026-68179",
    "products": [
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "Kernel",
          "evidence": "/affected/1/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [
          {
            "value": "6.12.101",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/ranges"
          },
          {
            "value": "6.18.42",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/ranges"
          },
          {
            "value": "7.1.6",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/ranges"
          }
        ],
        "affected_versions": []
      }
    ],
    "severity": "high",
    "structured": {
      "id": "CVE-2026-68179",
      "aliases": [
        "CVE-2026-68179"
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "type": "CVSS_V3",
          "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
        }
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
              "type": "GIT",
              "events": [
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                {
                  "fixed": "4aa3f7d48e91eb74a363c1b4d7dbdd28f5b341fb"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "8f068342096b027181b168d91fef7ac7a2c64b25"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "f318f5a872cb9096536e759b23ae5c9873bb80ed"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "ce1fed11d18e163baf7f875152a33bf80f625c1a"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2026-68179.json"
          }
        },
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "6.8.0"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "6.12.101"
                }
              ]
            },
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "6.13.0"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "6.18.42"
                }
              ]
            },
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "6.19.0"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "7.1.6"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "Kernel",
            "ecosystem": "Linux"
          },
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2026-68179.json"
          }
        }
      ],
      "modified": "2026-10-28T02:30:28.620880530Z",
      "provider": "osv",
      "references": [
        "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4aa3f7d48e91eb74a363c1b4d7dbdd28f5b341fb",
        "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8f068342096b027181b168d91fef7ac7a2c64b25",
        "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ce1fed11d18e163baf7f875152a33bf80f625c1a",
        "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f318f5a872cb9096536e759b23ae5c9873bb80ed",
        "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/68xxx/CVE-2026-68179.json",
        "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68179",
        "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git"
      ],
      "provider_metadata": {
        "cna_assigner": "Linux",
        "osv_generated_from": "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/68xxx/CVE-2026-68179.json"
      }
    },
    "related_cves": [
      {
        "value": "CVE-2026-68179",
        "evidence": "/id"
      }
    ],
    "security_relevant": true,
    "severity_evidence": "/severity/0/score"
  },
  "source_id": "core-osv",
  "document_id": 495450,
  "published_at": "2026-08-10T11:59:50.667+00:00"
}