| Release Date: | 2026-10-06 | |
| Impact: | Moderate | What is this? |
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: pcm: set timer->private_data before registering the PCM timer snd_pcm_timer_init() calls snd_device_register() to link the new struct snd_timer into the global timer list while it still carries hw.c_resolution = snd_pcm_timer_resolution (and hw.start/hw.stop), and only afterwards sets timer->private_data = substream. Once the timer is on the list under register_mutex, a concurrent reader can already reach it through the same mutex and invoke these callbacks. /proc/asound/timers does this via c_resolution(), and snd_timer_open()+snd_timer_start() reach start()/stop() the same way. All three dereference timer->private_data, which for this brief window is NULL, giving a NULL-pointer dereference: substream = timer->private_data; return substream->runtime ? ... // substream is NULL Move the private_data/private_free assignment before snd_device_register() so the timer is never visible on the list without its private_data set. On the snd_device_register() failure path, private_free() (snd_pcm_timer_free()) can now run, but it only does substream->timer = NULL, which is already NULL at that point since substream->timer is set to the new timer just once, after a successful registration -- so the failure path stays safe.
See more information about CVE-2026-98314 from MITRE CVE dictionary and NIST NVD
NOTE: The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
| Base Score: | 3.3 |
| Vector String: | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L |
| Version: | 3.1 |
| Attack Vector: | Local |
| Attack Complexity: | Low |
| Privileges Required: | Low |
| User Interaction: | None |
| Scope: | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality Impact: | None |
| Integrity Impact: | None |
| Availability Impact: | Low |
| Platform | Errata | Release Date |
| Oracle Linux version 10 (kernel-uek) | ELSA-2026-500572 | 2026-11-02 |
| Oracle Linux version 8 (kernel-uek) | ELSA-2026-500574 | 2026-11-02 |
| Oracle Linux version 9 (kernel-uek) | ELSA-2026-500572 | 2026-11-02 |
| Oracle Linux version 9 (kernel-uek) | ELSA-2026-500574 | 2026-11-02 |
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