Kernel crash via prematurely published PCM timer
Published Oct 6, 2026 · Updated Oct 6, 2026
A race in ALSA PCM timers in Linux allows attackers to crash the kernel by accessing a newly registered timer through local interfaces. snd_pcm_timer_init registers a timer before setting its private_data pointer, so a concurrent resolution, start, or stop callback dereferences a null pointer. Triggering the fault requires timer registration to overlap a local timer read or start; the published paths do not expose a network trigger.
Summary
What happened
A race in ALSA PCM timers in Linux allows attackers to crash the kernel by accessing a newly registered timer through local interfaces. snd_pcm_timer_init registers a timer before setting its private_data pointer, so a concurrent resolution, start, or stop callback dereferences a null pointer. Triggering the fault requires timer registration to overlap a local timer read or start; the published paths do not expose a network trigger.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98314
- Published
- Oct 6, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 6, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 6, 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.
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <0b349249d572633d7c8cdeb917623d1676a2b7c3
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <1e713f9bb2ac583521f06b0eb4e22440b1e3d078
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <27f167e117eca310661fbcbacb352ea08face067
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <555d168bd98daa46daccc68c908201388c834293
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <686c7a6af1eea8d2a919303e4c6bbec3de79dbdc
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <8c869d5cf5affb20994bdbb60e7d46d65c91b55f
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <d63f5a9f8121fb43c798056d7dd34c58f47185d7
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <e1eee8f16628f8b6bcae0a366fd6a2dd65e71edd
- Affected versionversion=2.6.12
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
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.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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