Bug 2482082 (CVE-2026-46004)

Summary:	CVE-2026-46004 kernel: ALSA: caiaq: Handle probe errors properly
Product:	[Other] Security Response	Reporter:	OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component:	vulnerability	Assignee:	Product Security <prodsec-ir-bot>
Status:	NEW ---	QA Contact:
Severity:	medium	Docs Contact:
Priority:	medium
Version:	unspecified	CC:	rhel-process-autobot, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone:	---	Keywords:	Security
Target Release:	---
Hardware:	All
OS:	Linux
Whiteboard:
Fixed In Version:		Doc Type:	---
Doc Text:	A flaw was found in the Linux kernel, specifically within the ALSA caiaq driver. This vulnerability arises from improper error handling during the `setup_card()` probe procedure. When an error occurs, the system may attempt to use memory that has already been freed, leading to a Use-After-Free (UAF) condition. This could allow a local attacker to potentially cause a system crash (Denial of Service) or execute arbitrary code.	Story Points:	---
Clone Of:		Environment:
Last Closed:		Type:	---
Regression:	---	Mount Type:	---
Documentation:	---	CRM:
Verified Versions:		Category:	---
oVirt Team:	---	RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team:	---	Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-05-27 15:10:28 UTC

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ALSA: caiaq: Handle probe errors properly

The probe procedure of setup_card() in caiaq driver doesn't treat the
error cases gracefully, e.g. the error from snd_card_register() calls
snd_card_free() but continues.  This would lead to a UAF for the
further calls like snd_usb_caiaq_control_init(), as Berk suggested in
another patch in the link below.

However, the problem is not only that; in general, this function drops
the all error handlings (as it's a void function) although its caller
can propagate an error to snd_probe(), which eventually calls
snd_card_free() as a proper error path.  That said, we should treat
each error case in setup_card(), and just return the error code
promptly, which is then handled later as a fatal error in snd_probe().

This patch achieves it by changing the setup_card() to return an error
code.  Also, the superfluous snd_card_free() call is removed, too.

Note that card->private_free can be set still safely at returning an
error.  All called functions in card_free() have checks of the
unassigned resources or NULL checks.

Comment 1 Keith Grant 2026-05-27 21:12:56 UTC

Upstream advisory:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2026052742-CVE-2026-46004-7e24@gregkh/T