NetBSD hdaudio(4) Driver Privilege Bypass Use-After-Free via HDAUDIO_FGRP_SETCONFIG ioctl
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-862.
Summary
NetBSD's hdaudio(4) driver in sys/dev/hdaudio/hdaudio.c contains a missing access control vulnerability that allows unprivileged local attackers to invoke the HDAUDIO_FGRP_SETCONFIG ioctl without elevated permissions by exploiting the absence of an access check on /dev/hdaudioN device nodes. Attackers can repeatedly issue HDAUDIO_FGRP_SETCONFIG from one thread while keeping DMA and IRQs live from a second thread to trigger a use-after-free race condition in hdafg_detach() between stream_stop() and stream_disestablish(), where a latched DMA interrupt dereferences a freed callback pointer, resulting in outcomes ranging from audio-subsystem denial of service and kernel panic to potential local kernel privilege escalation.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The NetBSD Foundation | NetBSD | up to 11 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- NetBSD VendorThe NetBSD Foundation Affected up to 11 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-53996
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-2q5f-pw9r-2w7m
References
Patch 1
Other 2
More The NetBSD Foundation vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-41653 NetBSD COMPAT_NETBSD32 Double Free / Use-After-Free via recvmsg() msg_iovlen CVSS 4.0HIGH 7.3
- TI-2026-41654 NetBSD mm_open() PK_KMEM Flag Kernel Pointer Information Disclosure CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.8
Sources
- CVE-2026-53996 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-53996 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-2q5f-pw9r-2w7m · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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