CVE Catalog

CVE-2026-98266

Low risk· EPSS 6%
Published: Updated: Translated: NVD NIST

Exploitation Probability (EPSS)

Low risk
0.17%

6th percentile - higher than 6% of all known CVEs

Summary

In the Linux kernel's ALSA core subsystem, there is a potential use-after-free (UAF) vulnerability after asynchronous sound card release. When the card is released asynchronously via snd_card_free_when_closed(), in-flight tasks may still access the card->dev device after disconnection, leading to UAF. The fix takes a refcount of card->dev at initialization and releases it at the destructor.

Risk Assessment

The risk includes potential system crash or undefined behavior due to accessing freed memory, which could be exploited for privilege escalation or system destabilization.

Recommendation

It is recommended to update the Linux kernel to a version with the fix that ensures card->dev is kept referenced throughout the card's lifecycle.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

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Original NVD description (English source)

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: core: Fix potential UAF after asynchronous card release Usually a sound driver releases the resources assigned to the card via snd_card_free(), and it synchronizes with the whole release procedure. However, when the card is released asynchronously via snd_card_free_when_closed() like USB-audio driver, the situation is slightly different; although the snd_card_disconnect() call at the disconnection guarantees that any newer accesses will be gated, the in-flight tasks might be still accessing to the underlying card->dev device even after the disconnection, which would cause a use-after-free in the end, as reported by fuzzers. For addressing the bug above, this patch takes the refcount of card->dev at initialization of the card object, and releases at its destructor. This assures the availability of the card->dev in its whole lifecycle.

Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS