ALSA: caiaq: fix usb_dev refcount leak on probe failure
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: caiaq: fix usb_dev refcount leak on probe failure create_card() takes a reference on the USB device with usb_get_dev() and stores the matching usb_put_dev() in card_free(), which is installed as the snd_card's ->private_free destructor. However, ->private_free is only assigned near the end of init_card(), after several failure points (usb_set_interface(), EP type checks, usb_submit_urb(), the EP1_CMD_GET_DEVICE_INFO exchange, and its timeout). When any of those fail, init_card() returns an error to snd_probe(), which calls snd_card_free(card). Because ->private_free is still NULL, card_free() never runs, the usb_get_dev() reference is not dropped, and the struct usb_device leaks along with its descriptor allocations and device_private. syzbot reproduces this with a malformed UAC3 device whose only valid altsetting is 0; init_card()'s usb_set_interface(usb_dev, 0, 1) call fails with -EIO and triggers the leak. Move the ->private_free assignment into create_card(), immediately after usb_get_dev(), so that every error path reaching snd_card_free() balances the reference. card_free()'s callees (snd_usb_caiaq_input_free, free_urbs, kfree) already tolerate the partially-initialized state because the chip private area is zero-initialized by snd_card_new().
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.6.136 to before 6.6.140; 6.12.84 to before 6.12.86; 6.18.25 to before 6.18.27; 7.0.2 to before 7.0.4 | 6.6.140, 6.12.86, 6.18.27, 7.0.4 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.6.136 to before 6.6.140; 6.12.84 to before 6.12.86; 6.18.25 to before 6.18.27; 7.0.2 to before 7.0.4 Fixed in 6.6.140, 6.12.86, 6.18.27, 7.0.4 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.6.140, 6.12.86, 6.18.27, 7.0.4
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-46048
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-r5hg-4g6p-vqwc
References
Patch 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c874db8a1d2f9f08161470d00cfe8db2f5cca2cc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6fa8dff64fb6c401ced40a05797b327659317498
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a8d907acc3e5a078c2e5637ff60c30c6d2ddc23a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/50c6a1f05973f56d23280c9d7645a7a5734e0907
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/da3b8fd6a202d94fef11a443abc9171c52426a1c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6153878c5255bb69b7d0868105ca078ef13cbcf8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/21ca595aafa40d3ac70eab1f4cb62cc00ca21657
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7a5f1cd22d47f8ca4b760b6334378ae42c1bd24b
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- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2026-46048 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-46048 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-r5hg-4g6p-vqwc · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-46048 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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