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CVE-2026-72301
ASoC: SOF: ipc3-control: Fix TOCTOU in bytes_put and bytes_get
Published 2026-08-15 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem sound/soc. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-72301 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | fixed | 6.1.180-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.1.180-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixed | 6.12.100-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.100-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.1.5-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.5-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.1.5-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.5-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
In sof_ipc3_bytes_put(), the size used for the memcpy is derived from the old data->size already in the buffer, not the incoming new data's size field. If the new data has a different size, the copy length is wrong: it may truncate valid data or copy stale bytes. Similarly, sof_ipc3_bytes_get() checks data->size against max_size without accounting for the sizeof(struct sof_ipc_ctrl_data) offset of the flex array within the allocation. Fix bytes_put to validate and use the incoming data's sof_abi_hdr.size from ucontrol before copying. Fix bytes_get to subtract sizeof(*cdata) from the bounds check to match the actual available space.
Where it lives
The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.
sound/soc/sof/ipc3-control.c
- What this is
- SOUND - SOUND OPEN FIRMWARE (SOF) DRIVERSMAINTAINERS section matched on sound/soc/sof/ · sound-open-firmware@alsa-project.org · Supported
- Kernel module
- snd_sof
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_SND|CONFIG_SND_SOC|CONFIG_SND_SOC_SOF' /boot/config-$(uname -r)Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.
lsmod | grep -w snd_sofPrints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian builds this, but not on every flavour. At least one release below builds the code on some of its kernel flavours and not on others, so the answer depends on the architecture and flavour installed.
- bookwormMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/arm64, arm64/cloud-arm64, arm64/rt/arm64, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp, ppc64el/powerpc64le
- trixieMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armel/rpi, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k, riscv64/riscv64, s390x/s390x
- forky, sidMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, loong64/loong64, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k, riscv64/riscv64, s390x/s390x
- M
- a module where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
- Build switches
- CONFIG_SND, CONFIG_SND_SOC, CONFIG_SND_SOC_SOF
- Reads as
- all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.
From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages
Signals
- Published
- 2026-08-15 (2 months ago)source
- CVSS
- 7.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- local (AV:L)source
- EPSS
- 0.16%, higher than 5.3% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- sound/soc
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 5.18 | 6.1.178 | 8bd715a9d882 |
| 5.18 | 6.6.145 | 0dce240145f4 |
| 5.18 | 6.12.97 | ed4f758f34be |
| 5.18 | 6.18.40 | 0c4fbdaca225 |
| 5.18 | 7.1.5 | 92f90917413b |
| 5.18 | 7.2 | 1f97760417b5 |
Why the CNA scored it this way
Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source
- AV:LAttack vector, local
- Exploitation requires local ALSA access via /dev/snd/controlC* and SNDRV_CTL_IOCTL_ELEM_READ/WRITE ioctls through snd_ctl_elem_write/read to sof_ipc3_bytes_put/get; SOF audio DSP controls are not reachable over the network.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- An attacker can deterministically trigger the bug by sequencing bytes_put calls to set a large stale data->size then issue a second put with a smaller header, or use bytes_get after inflating size; no uncontrollable race or rare layout is required.
- PR:LPrivileges required, low
- Only standard local access to the ALSA control device is needed; on typical Linux desktops and laptops with Intel/AMD SOF IPC3, session users in the audio group can write SOF bytes kcontrols without real root or init-namespace capabilities.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- No victim interaction is required; a local attacker with sound-device access can directly issue ioctl-based ALSA control read/write operations against writable SOF bytes controls.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- The flaw corrupts kernel heap memory adjacent to a SOF control allocation and can enable local privilege escalation, but it does not cross a VM, IOMMU, or sandbox security boundary into another authority.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- sof_ipc3_bytes_get can memcpy up to roughly sizeof(struct sof_ipc_ctrl_data) bytes beyond the kzalloc(max_size) allocation into userspace when data->size passes an incorrect bound, leaking adjacent kernel heap contents.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- sof_ipc3_bytes_put uses stale data->size for memcpy length instead of the incoming sof_abi_hdr.size, enabling a heap out-of-bounds write past the control buffer that can corrupt adjacent kmalloc objects and be leveraged for code execution.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- The out-of-bounds read/write corrupts kernel heap metadata or adjacent objects and can cause kernel oops, panic, or hang when exploiting SOF IPC3 bytes controls on affected hardware.