What is CVE-2026-105668?

CVE-2026-105668 is Hex release-age cooldown is lifted package-wide when the locked release is retired. The supplied enrichment data classifies it as Unclassified mapped to CWE-693 CWE-693.

Which versions are affected?

Affected product and version evidence is listed in the product table above. Current public advisories should be checked for exact version scope before patch targeting is finalized.

Is there active exploitation?

Active exploitation is not confirmed from current sources for CVE-2026-105668. If exploitation is not confirmed from current sources, teams should document that status and continue monitoring KEV, vendor, and telemetry updates.

No. CVE-2026-105668 is not listed in CISA KEV in the supplied enrichment data. KEV status should be monitored because it can change after initial disclosure or after exploitation becomes publicly confirmed.

Is there a public exploit?

1 public PoC repositories reported; 0 marked weaponized in current dataset. Public exploit or PoC availability should raise triage priority, especially for exposed or business-critical systems.

How can defenders detect it?

Start with web/proxy/WAF logs, application logs, network IDS/IPS where available. Look for vulnerability-class behavior, product errors, suspicious authentication events, exploit probes, and abnormal process activity based only on evidence that applies to the affected product.

How should teams prioritize it?

Prioritize CVE-2026-105668 using CVSS 7.1, EPSS 0%, KEV status, public PoC status, and asset exposure. Internet-facing, privileged, or business-critical deployments should be handled first.

Are workarounds available?

Workarounds are not confirmed from current sources. Fixed-version evidence is listed in the mitigation section above.

Which threat actors are linked publicly?

No public threat actor linkage is confirmed from current sources. Do not attribute exploitation to a threat actor unless the source evidence explicitly supports that linkage.

What should be done in the next 24 hours?

Identify exposed assets running affected vendor/product/version combinations. Prioritize based on EPSS, PoC availability, and external exposure. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors, authentication anomalies, or suspicious child processes matching the vulnerability class. Open remediation tickets with affected assets, owners, evidence status, and detection coverage so decisions are traceable.

highpublic exploit

CVE-2026-105668

CVE-2026-105668 — Hex release-age cooldown is lifted package-wide when the locked release is retired

Protection Mechanism Failure vulnerability in hexpm hex allows the owner of a package, or an attacker who has taken over the owner's account, to get a newly published release past the release-age cooldown. The cooldown (cooldown config, HEX_COOLDOWN) withholds versions younger than the configured age during dependency resolution. When the release of a package locked in mix.lock is retired or has a security advisory, Hex.RemoteConverger.build_cooldown_bypass/3 and Hex.RemoteConverger.unsafe_lock_bypass/1 lift the cooldown for every version of that package and of every package the locked release depends on, so that mix deps.update can move off the unsafe release. Retiring a release needs the same package owner permission as publishing one. An attacker who publishes a malicious release can retire the currently locked release, and the next mix deps.update that unlocks the package selects the new release regardless of its age. Hex.Registry.Cooldown.versions/2 checks the bypass by package name alone, so the bypass also covers packages with the same name in other repositories. Cooldown configured through an organization dependency policy is not affected. This issue affects hex: from 2.5.0 before 2.5.2.

Published Oct 12, 2026Updated Oct 12, 2026Sources: NVD, hexpm (CNA), GitHub, Red Hat (VEX), SOCRadar CTI

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the scoring sources call it.

Exploitation

Exploit code

public exploit, none observed

EPSS

ahead of 0% of scored CVEs

Affects

hexpm

2 products listed

CVSS base

7.1

high · 2 sources

Remediation

The vendor's own words where we have them.

Upgrade Hex to 2.5.2 or later, for example with mix local.hex. A retired locked release then no longer lifts the release-age cooldown for its package. A locked release with a security advisory still lifts it for its package and the direct dependencies of the locked release, only in the repository the package is locked from.

Red Hat VEX · CVE-2026-105668

fixed0affected0not affected1

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record's own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found.

Identify exposed assets running affected vendor/product/version combinations.
Prioritize based on EPSS, PoC availability, and external exposure.
Search available logs for exploit probes, errors, authentication anomalies, or suspicious child processes matching the vulnerability class.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and version as the advisories word them.

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status
hexpm	hex	2.5.0 to < 2.5.2	Vulnerable
hexpm	hex	b4e665d46be8a5f81e8cbbe4c3a67058a19cf133	Vulnerable

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Scope

Attack Complexity

Low

Attack Vector

Network

Privileges Req

High

User Interaction

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

Score	Version	Severity	Expl.	Impact	Source
7.1	CVSS 4.0	high	—	—	hexpm (CNA)
6.8	CVSS 3.1	medium	—	—	Red Hat (VEX)

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

What this weakness leads to

MITRE's own consequences and mitigations for the weakness class — the authority's wording, not guidance derived from the CVSS vector.

MITRE

CWE-693 · Protection Mechanism Failure

Bypass Protection Mechanism::

Weakness & attack patterns

CWE-693

Attack patterns reported against this CVE. The ATT&CK techniques below are inferred from its weakness class.

CAPEC-1 · Accessing Functionality Not Properly Constrained by ACLsCAPEC-107 · Cross Site TracingCAPEC-127 · Directory IndexingCAPEC-17 · Using Malicious FilesCAPEC-20 · Encryption Brute ForcingCAPEC-22 · Exploiting Trust in ClientCAPEC-237 · Escaping a Sandbox by Calling Signed Code in Another LanguageCAPEC-36 · Using Unpublished InterfacesCAPEC-477 · Signature Spoofing by Mixing Signed and Unsigned ContentCAPEC-480 · Escaping VirtualizationCAPEC-51 · Poison Web Service RegistryCAPEC-57 · Utilizing REST's Trust in the System Resource to Obtain Sensitive Data

T1574.010Hijack Execution Flow: ServicesFile Permissions Weakness
T1083File and Directory Discovery
T1574.005Hijack Execution Flow: Executable Installer File Permissions Weakness

Public exploit

Capability, not use: code existing is a different claim from anyone running it.

Repositories

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not rules we have tested.

Search application, proxy, and WAF logs for requests touching /3, /1, /2.
Prioritize edge telemetry for network-reachable hex.
Monitor for scanner or exploit-pattern traffic after 1 public PoC repositories were reported.

web/proxy/WAF logsapplication logsnetwork IDS/IPS

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first — with the readings a source repeats on a schedule counted underneath rather than listed.

2026
Added · CVSS 3.1 7.1 (AV:N)
Oct 12, 2026 · NVD
Initial · CVE published
Oct 12, 2026 · NVD
CVE published by MITRE.
Oct 12, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI

References

8 on the record

cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-105668.html
Vendor Advisory, Mitre, NIST
github.com/hexpm/hex/commit/1b6fddfeadd98ed26a143f60356efade0494e2ae
Exploit, Third Party Advisory, Mitre, NIST
github.com/hexpm/hex/commit/b4e665d46be8a5f81e8cbbe4c3a67058a19cf133
Exploit, Third Party Advisory, Mitre, NIST
github.com/hexpm/hex/commit/eed2bdf85320ae9e244629511c03f5f3f8c5d0b5
Exploit, Third Party Advisory, Mitre, NIST
github.com/hexpm/hex/security/advisories/GHSA-pqhp-5x9x-69h7
Exploit, Third Party Advisory, Mitre, NIST
osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-105668
Vendor Advisory, Mitre, NIST
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-105668
Vendor Advisory
www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-105668
Vendor Advisory

Elsewhere on this site

hexpmevery CVE for this vendor
Unclassifiedsame class
CWE-693other pages naming this weakness

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record1

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-105668 is Hex release-age cooldown is lifted package-wide when the locked release is retired, a high vulnerability affecting hex from hexpm. The current evidence does not list it in CISA KEV, and the exploit status is: Active exploitation is not confirmed from current sources for CVE-2026-105668. Public exploit evidence is: 1 public PoC repositories reported; 0 marked weaponized in current dataset. The affected-version evidence is listed in the key facts and affected products tables. Defenders should first verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run those versions, then apply vendor patches or mitigations, restrict reachable attack surface, and preserve logs for detection review. CVSS 7.1 describes technical severity, while EPSS 0% helps estimate near-term exploit likelihood; neither replaces asset context. Unknown fields should remain explicit in tickets, and threat actor, IOC, victimology, or payload claims should not be added unless a cited source supports them. Monitor CISA KEV, vendor advisories, NVD changes, public PoC repositories, and internal telemetry for update triggers.