Invalid memory access via stale input device
Published Oct 18, 2026 · Updated Oct 18, 2026
Use-after-free in Linux ALSA caiaq allows attackers to trigger invalid kernel memory reads through a stale input device. After setup_card() registers that device, a later initialization failure makes snd_probe() free the backing state without unregistering it, leaving name and phys references dangling. Reading the remaining uevent attribute dereferences freed memory; reachability requires caiaq input support, a matching USB device, and probe failure, which the published reproduction forced artificially.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Linux ALSA caiaq allows attackers to trigger invalid kernel memory reads through a stale input device. After setup_card() registers that device, a later initialization failure makes snd_probe() free the backing state without unregistering it, leaving name and phys references dangling. Reading the remaining uevent attribute dereferences freed memory; reachability requires caiaq input support, a matching USB device, and probe failure, which the published reproduction forced artificially.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98837
- Published
- Oct 18, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 18, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 18, 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=09616e25f502080ba684fc7fcf959d1376ab756d
- Affected versionversion=096dd8519cf2f768e9e14f224b627f7aaee1a9c5
- Affected versionversion=28abd224db4a49560b452115bca3672a20e45b2f <0b7bd20f6379bc5e431fd74d866390f5b5b63f3c
- Affected versionversion=28abd224db4a49560b452115bca3672a20e45b2f <2e5a413cc2a489c9427ecd3d73ad764bfb0c7103
- Affected versionversion=5.10.258 <5.11
- Affected versionversion=5.15.209 <5.16
- Affected versionversion=6.1.175 <6.2
- Affected versionversion=6.12.86 <6.12.113
- Affected versionversion=6.18.27 <6.18.56
- Affected versionversion=6251e3e256337a30160ef59ab1580dde4d1acd28 <850810c12686f80cdf7530f4f21e0157d904f739
- Affected versionversion=6.6.140 <6.7
- Affected versionversion=7.0.4 <7.1
- Affected versionversion=7.1
- Affected versionversion=b956e48371f2ff72b76be9a829800ecec963bd45
- Affected versionversion=da938aa9fc7826901921dcea225948ab21a97e45
- Affected versionversion=e59ecd4ee3a450db6cb4e4ecaa3efdd593f80056 <84727facd8506140cd04f2b0a8b1c4ddeac41cea
- Affected versionversion=f537e3ad69609f6924a4db6b4a7f6561f5288bdd
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
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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