CVE-2026-90198
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture) core. A local user could exploit a use-after-free vulnerability when a sound card is unbound while a user-space application still holds an open file descriptor. This race condition allows the system to attempt to access memory after it has been freed, potentially leading to system instability or a denial of service.
Statement
A moderate-severity use-after-free flaw was found in the Linux kernel's ALSA core (snd_card_do_free() in sound/core/init.c), affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, 9, and 10, Red Hat In-Vehicle OS 2, and the RHEL CoreOS-based nodes in OpenShift Container Platform 4. When a sound card managed by devres is unbound while a user-space application still holds an open file descriptor to it, a race between the unbind thread and the thread closing the descriptor can cause the devres core to free the snd_card structure while snd_card_do_free() still reads the card->managed field, triggering a use-after-free. A local user with the ability to open sound device file descriptors and trigger the unbind of a sound card could exploit this race to crash the kernel, resulting in a denial of service; confidentiality and integrity are not affected (Red Hat CVSS 5.5, AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H). Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 are not affected because the vulnerable code is not present in those streams. The fix for the affected products is deferred to a future update; the residual risk is limited to local denial of service, since exploitation requires local access to a system with an ALSA sound device and the impact is to availability only.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.5 | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | N/A |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Memory
If the expired pointer is used in a read operation, an attacker might be able to control data read in by the application.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
If the expired pointer references a memory location that is not accessible to the product, or points to a location that is "malformed" (such as NULL) or larger than expected by a read or write operation, then a crash may occur.
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
If the expired pointer is used in a function call, or points to unexpected data in a write operation, then code execution may be possible.
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