CVE-2026-46048

Memory exhaustion via leaked USB references

Published May 27, 2026 · Updated May 27, 2026

Resource leakage in the Linux Kernel ALSA caiaq driver allows local users to exhaust kernel memory with a malformed UAC3 USB device. The init_card() error paths free the sound card before assigning private_free, so card_free() never drops create_card()'s usb_get_dev() reference. Repeated probe failures require local access to present the device and can exhaust kernel memory, interrupting service without affecting data.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.12%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Resource leakage in the Linux Kernel ALSA caiaq driver allows local users to exhaust kernel memory with a malformed UAC3 USB device. The init_card() error paths free the sound card before assigning private_free, so card_free() never drops create_card()'s usb_get_dev() reference. Repeated probe failures require local access to present the device and can exhaust kernel memory, interrupting service without affecting data.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-46048
Published
May 27, 2026
Updated
May 27, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 27, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 27, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=1d9be95aee6c6246a21752e60c9519902649f482 <da3b8fd6a202d94fef11a443abc9171c52426a1c
  2. Affected versionversion=59b622a043cffc58b7638cd85ae6c30a0904f8e6 <21ca595aafa40d3ac70eab1f4cb62cc00ca21657
  3. Affected versionversion=6.12.84 <6.12.86
  4. Affected versionversion=6.18.25 <6.18.27
  5. Affected versionversion=6473ed16df1fe88051140611b3eb9a49be7f429e <6153878c5255bb69b7d0868105ca078ef13cbcf8
  6. Affected versionversion=6.6.136 <6.6.140
  7. Affected versionversion=7.0.2 <7.0.4
  8. Affected versionversion=7.1-rc1
  9. Affected versionversion=80bb50e2d459213cccff3111d5ef98ed4238c0d5 <7a5f1cd22d47f8ca4b760b6334378ae42c1bd24b
  10. Affected versionversion=f6634af5de728a46792f674a66d7843570cb68f7 <50c6a1f05973f56d23280c9d7645a7a5734e0907

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=1d9be95aee6c6246a21752e60c9519902649f482 <da3b8fd6a202d94fef11a443abc9171c52426a1c; version=59b622a043cffc58b7638cd85ae6c30a0904f8e6 <21ca595aafa40d3ac70eab1f4cb62cc00ca21657; version=6.12.84 <6.12.86; version=6.18.25 <6.18.27; version=6473ed16df1fe88051140611b3eb9a49be7f429e <6153878c5255bb69b7d0868105ca078ef13cbcf8; version=6.6.136 <6.6.140; version=7.0.2 <7.0.4; version=7.1-rc1; version=80bb50e2d459213cccff3111d5ef98ed4238c0d5 <7a5f1cd22d47f8ca4b760b6334378ae42c1bd24b; version=f6634af5de728a46792f674a66d7843570cb68f7 <50c6a1f05973f56d23280c9d7645a7a5734e0907

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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