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CVE-2026-89980
ALSA: harmony: initialize locks before requesting IRQ
Published 2026-09-16 (33 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem sound/parisc. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
Debian does not build this code. The per-release build detail is under "Where it lives" below.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-89980 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 | fixedDLA-4841-1 · 2026-10-17 · text | 6.1.190-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4841-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-17, in 6.1.190-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixedDSA-6528-1 · 2026-09-29 · text | 6.12.111-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6528-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-29, in 6.12.111-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12 | fixedDLA-4817-1 · 2026-10-04 · text | 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4817-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-04, in 6.12.111-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
snd_harmony_create() registers the IRQ before initializing h->lock and h->mixer_lock. A pending interrupt can invoke the handler while these locks are uninitialized. Initialize both locks before requesting the IRQ so the handler always sees valid lock state.
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/parisc/harmony.c
- What this is
- HARMONY SOUND DRIVERMAINTAINERS section matched on sound/parisc/harmony.* · linux-parisc@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- none to look for. The file would have gone into snd_harmony, and Debian does not compile it into that module, so finding snd_harmony in lsmod would say nothing about this CVE.
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_SND|CONFIG_SND_HARMONY' /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.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian does not build this code. In 5 releases below, every kernel flavour Debian publishes has the switch off, so the vulnerable file is compiled into no kernel binary Debian ships.
- bookworm, trixie, forky, sid, bookworm · linux-6.12n
- n
- not enabled on any flavour - this release does not build the code
- Build switches
- CONFIG_SND, CONFIG_SND_HARMONY
- 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
- 2026-09-16 (33 days ago)source
- CVSS
- 8.4 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- local (AV:L)source
- EPSS
- 0.18%, higher than 7.6% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- sound/parisc
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 2.6.12 | 5.15.221 | 9af6c9203583 |
| 2.6.12 | 6.1.188 | f86ff9238b0c |
| 2.6.12 | 6.6.157 | 7dc239edb6d5 |
| 2.6.12 | 6.12.110 | 9347588bbd6a |
| 2.6.12 | 6.18.51 | 89992bda7dfb |
| 2.6.12 | 7.2.5 | cd209eb3136e |
| 2.6.12 | 7.3 | 33abb7491e89 |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4841-1 | 2026-10-17 | bookworm 6.1.190-1 | tracker |
| DLA-4817-1 | 2026-10-04 | bookworm 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | tracker |
| DSA-6528-1 | 2026-09-29 | trixie 6.12.111-1 | tracker |
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
- The bug is reached only from snd_harmony_probe() → snd_harmony_create() → request_irq() → snd_harmony_interrupt() on onboard HP PA-RISC LASI/ASP Harmony audio, which enumerates at boot or module bind. There is no network, Bluetooth, or USB packet path into this GSC chip.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- snd_harmony_create() calls request_irq() before spin_lock_init() and before pcm_init()'s harmony_disable_interrupts(). Firmware leftover DSTATUS_IE plus pending PN/RN lets gsc_asic_unmask_irq() deliver snd_harmony_interrupt() immediately against uninitialized h->lock, without an attacker-uncontrollable race.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- snd_harmony_create() performs no capability or authentication checks before request_irq(). On GSC/LASI PA-RISC workstations and servers with Harmony, kernel/udev enumeration runs the vulnerable probe automatically without an OS account or user-namespace privilege.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- No victim action is required. A pending Harmony interrupt during driver probe at boot or module autoload invokes the uninitialized-lock IRQ path without anyone opening ALSA PCM or control nodes.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- Impact is uninitialized spinlock use and DMA next-address programming inside the host kernel Harmony driver. This does not cross a VM, IOMMU, or sandbox security boundary.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- snd_harmony_interrupt() takes uninitialized h->lock in hard-IRQ context and, with psubs/csubs still NULL, programs HARMONY_PNXTADD from zeroed sdma so the chip DMAs from physical address 0. That undefined lock/DMA behavior can disclose kernel memory rather than a small bounded leak.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- On SMP PA-RISC (defconfig), probe can spin_lock_init() h->lock while the IRQ handler still holds the zeroed lock, and the handler writes HARMONY_RNXTADD/PNXTADD (including 0) in that window. That lock-state corruption and invalid DMA programming are write/control-flow primitives, not a pure crash.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Taking uninitialized h->lock in snd_harmony_interrupt() during probe hits DEBUG_SPINLOCK bad-magic BUG, lockdep non-static-key failure, oops/panic, or a hung IRQ/DMA path on affected PA-RISC machines, fully denying availability.