ALSA: seq: Fix division by zero in initialize_timer()
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
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- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: seq: Fix division by zero in initialize_timer() A userspace-driven ALSA timer (SND_UTIMER) lets an unprivileged user set the backing snd_timer's hardware resolution to an arbitrary 64-bit value via SNDRV_TIMER_IOCTL_CREATE. snd_utimer_create() only rejects zero. When such a timer is bound to a sequencer queue, initialize_timer() computes the tick period as tmr->ticks = 1000000000 / (r * freq); where r is that user-controlled resolution and freq is the sequencer update rate in Hz, clamped to MIN_FREQUENCY..MAX_FREQUENCY (10..6250). A resolution of 2^63 makes the 64-bit product r * freq wrap to zero for any even freq, including DEFAULT_FREQUENCY (1000), so the division faults with a divide-by-zero. The division runs under tmr->lock with interrupts disabled, so the oops leaves the spinlock held and hangs the CPU. It is reachable by an unprivileged user with access to /dev/snd/timer and /dev/snd/seq. Oops: divide error: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN PTI CPU: 7 UID: 1000 PID: 456 Comm: alsa_seq_utimer Not tainted 7.2.0-rc4+ RIP: 0010:initialize_timer.constprop.0+0x20a/0x2d0 snd_seq_timer_start+0x15e/0x2b0 snd_seq_control_queue+0x56f/0xba0 snd_seq_write+0x3e0/0x730 Reject an overflowing product with check_mul_overflow() and fall back to a single tick, which also avoids feeding a wrapped-but-nonzero divisor (e.g. 2^63 * 1000 mod 2^64 == 0, or other resolutions wrapping to a small value) into the period computation.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.12.103, 6.18.44, 7.1.8, 7.2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-74504
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-mhc7-jmq5-gh86
- 2026-10-29 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
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Sources
- CVE-2026-74504 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-74504 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-mhc7-jmq5-gh86 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-74504 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences