CVE-2026-68363: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

UNKNOWN
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-x3fw-jwr8-ppm9
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Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-68363 is a security vulnerability vulnerability (General Security Weakness) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2026-68363 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-68363
GHSA Identifier GHSA-x3fw-jwr8-ppm9
Severity N/A
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification General Security Weakness
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2026-68363

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-68363, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under General Security Weakness. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath9k: hif_usb: don't dereference hif_dev after re-arming firmware request ath9k_hif_request_firmware() re-arms an asynchronous firmware load via request_firmware_nowait(), passing hif_dev as the completion context, and then still dereferences hif_dev: dev_info(&hif_dev->udev->dev, "ath9k_htc: Firmware %s requested\n", hif_dev->fw_name); The re-armed callback ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb() runs on the "events" workqueue and, when the firmware is missing, walks the retry chain into ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_fail() -> complete_all(&hif_dev->fw_done). That releases the wait_for_completion(&hif_dev->fw_done) in a concurrent ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect(), which then kfree()s hif_dev. The trailing dev_info() in the frame that re-armed the request can therefore read freed memory (hif_dev->udev, the first field of struct hif_device_usb): BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ath9k_hif_request_firmware Read of size 8 ... by task kworker/... ath9k_hif_request_firmware ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c:1247 request_firmware_work_func Allocated by ...: ath9k_hif_usb_probe drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c Freed by ...: ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect -> kfree drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c The fw_done barrier only makes disconnect wait for the firmware chain to *terminate*; it does not protect the outer ath9k_hif_request_firmware() frame that re-armed the request and keeps touching hif_dev afterwards. Drop the post-request dev_info(): it is the only use of hif_dev after the async request is armed, and it is purely informational (the dev_err() on the failure path runs only when request_firmware_nowait() did not arm a callback, so hif_dev is still alive there). This was first reported by syzbot as a single, non-reproduced crash that was later auto-obsoleted, and was independently rediscovered by the reFuzz fuzzer, which produced a C reproducer (USB-gadget connect/disconnect of an ath9k_htc device whose firmware download fails). The vulnerable code is unchanged and still present in v7.1-rc6, where the slab-use-after-free reproduces under KASAN once the (sub-microsecond) race window is widened.

References

NVD — CVE-2026-68363 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68363
git.kernel.org/stable/c/063497cc9f... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/063497cc9f320ab71a7a937c3bc0a23e630aefe2
git.kernel.org/stable/c/10b0ce6291... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/10b0ce629123a3737b4eda50188f73bb7be7b68b
git.kernel.org/stable/c/47ed81aaa7... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/47ed81aaa7f94d9808f4719e78a760c2ec1e6c86
git.kernel.org/stable/c/48a69cedde... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48a69cedde7388294e4ea6fd804156cd62bc04fc
git.kernel.org/stable/c/48de0c6952... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48de0c6952192b0771fca468df4364d11ec74ad9
git.kernel.org/stable/c/7c9046d92c... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7c9046d92c4b9789c9d9d775e4fd5f34be64cb0a
git.kernel.org/stable/c/7f184ca38a... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7f184ca38a90889f3f6665ff96748b95da39dbee
git.kernel.org/stable/c/dad9f96945... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dad9f96945d77ecd4708f730c06ef54dcd8cc057

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-68363?
CVE-2026-68363 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under General Security Weakness.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2026-68363?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-68363?
CVE-2026-68363 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-68363?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-x3fw-jwr8-ppm9",
  "modified" : "2026-08-19T18:32:17Z",
  "published" : "2026-08-10T15:33:48Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-68363" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: ath9k: hif_usb: don't dereference hif_dev after re-arming firmware request\n\nath9k_hif_request_firmware() re-arms an asynchronous firmware load via\nrequest_firmware_nowait(), passing hif_dev as the completion context, and\nthen still dereferences hif_dev:\n\n\tdev_info(&hif_dev->udev->dev, \"ath9k_htc: Firmware %s requested\\n\",\n\t\t hif_dev->fw_name);\n\nThe re-armed callback ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb() runs on the \"events\"\nworkqueue and, when the firmware is missing, walks the retry chain into\nath9k_hif_usb_firmware_fail() -> complete_all(&hif_dev->fw_done). That\nreleases the wait_for_completion(&hif_dev->fw_done) in a concurrent\nath9k_hif_usb_disconnect(), which then kfree()s hif_dev. The trailing\ndev_info() in the frame that re-armed the request can therefore read freed\nmemory (hif_dev->udev, the first field of struct hif_device_usb):\n\n  BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ath9k_hif_request_firmware\n  Read of size 8 ... by task kworker/...\n   ath9k_hif_request_firmware\n   ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb           drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c:1247\n   request_firmware_work_func\n  Allocated by ...:\n   ath9k_hif_usb_probe                 drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c\n  Freed by ...:\n   ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect -> kfree   drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c\n\nThe fw_done barrier only makes disconnect wait for the firmware chain to\n*terminate*; it does not protect the outer ath9k_hif_request_firmware()\nframe that re-armed the request and keeps touching hif_dev afterwards.\n\nDrop the post-request dev_info(): it is the only use of hif_dev after the\nasync request is armed, and it is purely informational (the dev_err() on the\nfailure path runs only when request_firmware_nowait() did not arm a callback,\nso hif_dev is still alive there).\n\nThis was first reported by syzbot as a single, non-reproduced crash that was\nlater auto-obsoleted, and was independently rediscovered by the reFuzz fuzzer,\nwhich produced a C reproducer (USB-gadget connect/disconnect of an ath9k_htc\ndevice whose firmware download fails). The vulnerable code is unchanged and\nstill present in v7.1-rc6, where the slab-use-after-free reproduces under KASAN\nonce the (sub-microsecond) race window is widened.",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68363"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/063497cc9f320ab71a7a937c3bc0a23e630aefe2"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/10b0ce629123a3737b4eda50188f73bb7be7b68b"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/47ed81aaa7f94d9808f4719e78a760c2ec1e6c86"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48a69cedde7388294e4ea6fd804156cd62bc04fc"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48de0c6952192b0771fca468df4364d11ec74ad9"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7c9046d92c4b9789c9d9d775e4fd5f34be64cb0a"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7f184ca38a90889f3f6665ff96748b95da39dbee"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dad9f96945d77ecd4708f730c06ef54dcd8cc057"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : null,
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-08-10T13:20:28Z"
  }
}