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CVE-2026-90198
ALSA: core: Fix use-after-free in snd_card_do_free()
Published 2026-09-17 (31 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem sound/core. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-90198 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
A use-after-free was detected in snd_card_do_free() when a sound card managed by devres is unbound while a user-space application still holds an open file descriptor. For managed cards, the memory is allocated using devres_alloc(), and its release function is set to __snd_card_release(), which calls snd_card_free(). When the device is unbound, the unbind thread calls snd_card_free(), which drops a reference to the card's device. If the user thread still has an open file descriptor, the reference count does not reach zero, and the unbind thread blocks on wait_for_completion(&released). When the user thread closes the file descriptor, it drops the final reference, invoking the device release callback release_card_device(), which calls snd_card_do_free(). snd_card_do_free() performs cleanup and calls complete(card->release_completion). This wakes up the unbind thread, which returns from snd_card_free() and __snd_card_release(). The devres core then immediately frees the memory block containing the snd_card structure. Meanwhile, the user thread continues execution in snd_card_do_free() and evaluates `if (!card->managed)`. It reads the `managed` boolean from the snd_card structure that was just freed by the unbind thread, triggering a KASAN use-after-free. Fix this by caching the value of card->managed in a local variable before calling complete(). This ensures that the card pointer is not dereferenced after the unbind thread has been woken up and potentially freed the card. BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in snd_card_do_free sound/core/init.c:604 [inline] BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in release_card_device+0x1ab/0x1b0 sound/core/init.c:153 Read of size 1 at addr ffff8881912ec909 by task syz-executor130/5857 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0xe8/0x150 lib/dump_stack.c:120 print_address_description+0x55/0x1e0 mm/kasan/report.c:378 print_report+0x58/0x70 mm/kasan/report.c:482 kasan_report+0x117/0x150 mm/kasan/report.c:595 snd_card_do_free sound/core/init.c:604 [inline] release_card_device+0x1ab/0x1b0 sound/core/init.c:153 device_release+0xc4/0x1f0 drivers/base/core.c:-1 kobject_cleanup lib/kobject.c:689 [inline] kobject_release lib/kobject.c:720 [inline] kref_put include/linux/kref.h:65 [inline] kobject_put+0x222/0x550 lib/kobject.c:737 snd_card_file_remove+0x331/0x390 sound/core/init.c:1125 snd_pcm_release+0x12c/0x160 sound/core/pcm_native.c:2986 __fput+0x418/0xa50 fs/file_table.c:512 fput_close_sync+0x11f/0x240 fs/file_table.c:617 __do_sys_close fs/open.c:1511 [inline] __se_sys_close fs/open.c:1496 [inline] __x64_sys_close+0x7e/0x110 fs/open.c:1496 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x174/0x580 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f </TASK>
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/core/init.c
- What this is
- SOUNDMAINTAINERS section matched on sound/ · linux-sound@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- snd
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_SND /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 sndPrints 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_SND
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
- 2026-09-17 (31 days ago)source
- CVSS
- no vector published, unrated
- Attack vector
- not published
- EPSS
- 0.22%, higher than 11.8% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- sound/core
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 5.15 | 5.15.221 | d3d67f680dbc |
| 5.15 | 6.1.188 | 09b27dd01b98 |
| 5.15 | 6.6.157 | 03c5dabc8f16 |
| 5.15 | 6.12.110 | 6da22efb5cf4 |
| 5.15 | 6.18.52 | a561012868ae |
| 5.15 | 7.2.6 | 7d9b5e86775f |
| 5.15 | 7.3 | 5ae1a690c522 |
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
The kernel CNA published no CVSS vector and no reasoning for CVE-2026-90198, which is why it is shown as unrated rather than given an invented score. 6,405 of the 20,413 CVEs here carry reasoning; this is not one of them.