alsa-lib through 1.2.16.1 Off-by-One Stack Buffer Overflow in __snd_ctl_ascii_elem_id_parse()
Priority LOW 21CWE-193Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · Low · Low
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 1 fixed, 5 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
alsa-lib through 1.2.16.1 contains a stack buffer overflow in the __snd_ctl_ascii_elem_id_parse() function that writes one byte past a 64-byte buffer when parsing a name= field with 64 or more characters. Attackers can supply a long control-element identifier string through saved state files or command-line arguments to overwrite adjacent stack memory and crash the calling process.
Why it matters now
Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00179 7th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Red Hat: 2 advisoriesRed Hat: 1 fixed, 5 without a fix
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALSA Project | alsa-lib | up to 1.2.16.1 | — | Patch available | CNA |
- alsa-lib VendorALSA Project Affected up to 1.2.16.1 Fixed in — Patch available CNA
Remediation
Red Hat 2 advisories
- RHSA-2026:67289 Released 2026-09-14 · Red Hat rating ModerateRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update
- Red Hat Hardened Images alsa-lib-1.2.16.1-2.1.hum1@aarch64, alsa-lib-1.2.16.1-2.1.hum1@src, alsa-lib-1.2.16.1-2.1.hum1@x86_64 +6
- RHSA-2026:40573 Released 2026-07-16 · Red Hat rating ModerateRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update
- Red Hat Hardened Images alsa-lib-1.2.16.1-2.hum1@aarch64, alsa-lib-1.2.16.1-2.hum1@src, alsa-lib-1.2.16.1-2.hum1@x86_64 +6
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 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Hardened Images | Fixed | RHSA-2026:40573, RHSA-2026:67289 |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-90781
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-f8w2-9vv9-pxwq
References
More ALSA Project vulnerabilities
- TI-2019-10031 posix/JackSocket.cpp in libjack in JACK2 1.9.1 through 1.9.12 (as distributed with… CVSS 3.0HIGH 8.1
- TI-2026-40493 ALSA Library < 1.2.16.1 Double-Free via parse_def() in conf.c CVSS 4.0HIGH 7.0
- TI-2009-00035 Link following in alsa-driver CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.5
- TI-2005-00073 The alsa-lib package in Red Hat Linux 4 disables stack protection for the libasound.so… CVSS 2.0MEDIUM 4.6
- TI-2026-63835 alsa-lib through 1.2.16.1 Denial of Service via pcm_multi CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 4.8
- TI-2026-63834 alsa-lib through 1.2.16.1 Integer Overflow via Topology File CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 4.8
Sources
- CVE-2026-90781 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-90781 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-f8w2-9vv9-pxwq · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-90781 · 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