CVE-2026-68357

/// Technical description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

watchdog: pretimeout: Fix UAF in watchdog_unregister_governor()

When a watchdog governor is unregistered, it updates existing watchdog

devices that were using this governor by falling back to `default_gov`.

If the governor being unregistered is currently set as `default_gov`,

the `default_gov` is never cleared. This leads to 2 use-after-free

issues:

1. New watchdog devices registered after this point will inherit the

dangling `default_gov`.

2. Existing watchdog devices using the unregistered governor will have

their `wdd->gov` reassigned to the dangling `default_gov`.

Fix the UAF by clearing `default_gov` if it matches the governor being

unregistered.

/// Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

/// References