CVE-2026-68346
Received Received - Intake

Memory Leak in Linux Kernel ALSA HDA CS35L41 Driver

Publication date: 2026-08-10

Last updated on: 2026-08-10

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: hda: cs35l41: validate and free ACPI mute object cs35l41_get_acpi_mute_state() evaluates a _DSM method to get the ACPI mute state and reads the first byte from the returned object. However, the returned ACPI object is owned by the caller and is never freed after use, so each successful query leaks the _DSM result object. The code also assumes that the returned object is a buffer with at least one byte. A malformed firmware response can return a different object type or an empty buffer, and the direct ret->buffer.pointer dereference can then access an invalid pointer. Use the typed _DSM helper, validate that the returned buffer contains at least one byte, and free the ACPI object after reading it.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-08-10
Last Modified
2026-08-10
Generated
2026-08-10
AI Q&A
2026-08-10
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-68346
EUVD
EUVD-2026-55447

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *

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Exploitability

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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability in the Linux kernel involves a memory leak in the ALSA HDA driver for CS35L41 audio devices. The function cs35l41_get_acpi_mute_state() retrieves ACPI mute state via a _DSM method but fails to free the returned ACPI object, causing a memory leak. Additionally, it assumes the returned object is a buffer with at least one byte, which could lead to invalid pointer access if the firmware response is malformed or empty.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's ALSA HDA driver for CS35L41 hardware. Detection requires checking kernel logs for ACPI mute state errors or examining the cs35l41 driver code for memory leaks. No direct network detection commands apply. Inspect kernel logs with 'dmesg | grep cs35l41' or check driver logs with 'journalctl -k | grep cs35l41'.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability could lead to memory leaks, reducing system performance over time due to unfreed memory. In severe cases, a malformed firmware response might cause kernel crashes or instability by accessing invalid memory. Systems using affected Linux kernel versions with CS35L41 audio devices are at risk.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the latest kernel update from your Linux distribution to patch the cs35l41 driver. If no patch is available, disable the CS35L41 audio driver module temporarily by running 'sudo modprobe -r snd-hda-codec-cs35l41' until a fix is applied.

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