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CVE-2026-90032
media: usbtv: keep device alive while ALSA card exists
Published 2026-09-16 (33 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/media. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-90032 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
The ALSA PCM callbacks store the driver state in pcm->private_data. An open PCM file can outlive USB disconnect because usbtv_audio_free() uses snd_card_free_when_closed(). The disconnect path can then drop the V4L2 device reference and free struct usbtv before ALSA releases the substream, so a later close dereferences freed memory in snd_usbtv_pcm_close(). Take a V4L2 device reference for the ALSA card and drop it from the card private_free callback. This keeps struct usbtv valid until ALSA has closed the remaining files and freed the card.
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.
drivers/media/usb/usbtv/usbtv-audio.c
- What this is
- MEDIA INPUT INFRASTRUCTURE (V4L/DVB)MAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/media/ · linux-media@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- usbtv
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_VIDEO_USBTV /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 usbtvPrints 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.
- bookworm, trixie, forky, sid, bookworm · linux-6.12Mnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64
- M
- a module where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
- Build switch
- CONFIG_VIDEO_USBTV
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
- 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
- 0.15%, higher than 4.0% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- drivers/media
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 3.18 | 5.10.270 | 97b5e8b22b98 |
| 3.18 | 5.15.221 | 503be26ff888 |
| 3.18 | 6.1.188 | be0f7745f883 |
| 3.18 | 6.6.157 | 67374e3a0081 |
| 3.18 | 6.12.110 | 239d1683e08b |
| 3.18 | 6.18.51 | 7690a86b1932 |
| 3.18 | 7.2.5 | 1618257cb0ab |
| 3.18 | 7.3 | fc530fe168bb |
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 UAF is reached locally by opening the usbtv ALSA capture PCM, forcing usbtv_disconnect() via USBDEVFS_DISCONNECT or sysfs unbind on an already-bound USBTV007, then closing the PCM fd; there is no network or packet path. This matches AV:L scoring of analogous USB disconnect UAFs (CVE-2026-80971, CVE-2026-64585); physical unplug is only an extra path.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- The attacker fully controls the sequence: open /dev/snd/pcmC*D*c so PCM callbacks pin pcm->private_data, issue USBDEVFS_DISCONNECT so snd_card_free_when_closed() returns without waiting, then close. That close deterministically hits freed struct usbtv in snd_usbtv_pcm_close(); no attacker-uncontrollable race or layout is required.
- PR:LPrivileges required, low
- USBDEVFS_DISCONNECT has no capable() check, only write access to /dev/bus/usb that udev uaccess/plugdev rules grant seat users, and snd_pcm_open() has no capability gate on the capture PCM node (audio group/uaccess). An unprivileged local account suffices; init-namespace root is not required.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- The attacker performs open, disconnect, and close on their own fds against an already-attached USBTV007 (capture kiosk, digitizer, or surveillance station). No separate victim action such as plugging a device or clicking is required during exploitation.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- The slab use-after-free of struct usbtv and the PCM close/trigger callbacks run entirely in the host kernel. This is ordinary local privilege escalation, not a VM, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary escape.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- snd_usbtv_pcm_close() and snd_usbtv_card_trigger() read fields of the kfree()'d struct usbtv (snd_stream, snd_trigger, snd_bulk_urb). Reclaiming that slab lets the attacker supply pointer-rich state those paths then read, enabling kernel disclosure as with other heap UAFs.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- Close can atomic_set snd_stream and schedule_work() on the freed usbtv.snd_trigger work_struct, and snd_pcm_drop may call trigger STOP on the same freed object. A reclaimed fake usbtv plus workqueue execution is a control-flow hijack primitive, so integrity impact is High.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Use-after-free of struct usbtv in snd_usbtv_pcm_close() (and in usbtv_audio_urb_received if capture was running when USB core kills the URB after disconnect) oopses or panics the kernel. The attacker can repeat disconnect/close to crash on demand, so availability impact is High.