CVE-2026-74388
Received Received - Intake

Use-After-Free in Linux Kernel ALSA OSS Sequencer

Vulnerability report for CVE-2026-74388, including description, CVSS score, EPSS score, affected products, exploitability, helpful resources, and attack-flow context.

Publication date: 2026-08-15

Last updated on: 2026-08-15

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: seq: oss: Fix UAF at handling events with embedded SysEx data The OSS sequencer processes the input MIDI bytes into a sequencer event to be dispatched later (in snd_seq_oss_midi_putc() called from snd_seq_oss_process_event()). When it's a SysEx data, the event record contains data.ext.ptr pointer to the original SysEx bytes, and the referred data is copied into the pool afterwards at dispatching. The problem is that, if the sequencer port gets closed concurrently before the dispatch, the OSS sequencer core also releases the resources (in snd_seq_oss_midi_check_exit_port()), while the pending event may hold a stale pointer, eventually leading to a UAF at a later dispatch. Fortunately, there is already a refcounting mechanism (snd_use_lock_t) for the OSS MIDI device access, and for addressing the issue above, we just need to extend the refcount until the event gets dispatched. This patch extends snd_seq_oss_process_event() to give back the refcount object, which is in turn released after calling the sequencer dispatcher with the given event in the caller side. According to the original report, KASAN report as below: KASAN slab-use-after-free in snd_seq_event_dup+0x40c/0x470 RIP: 0033:0x7f2cb66a6340 Read of size 6 Call trace: dump_stack_lvl+0x73/0xb0 (?:?) print_report+0xd1/0x650 (?:?) srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5 (?:?) __virt_addr_valid+0x1a7/0x340 (?:?) kasan_complete_mode_report_info+0x64/0x200 (?:?) kasan_report+0xf7/0x130 (?:?) snd_seq_event_dup+0x40c/0x470 (?:?) kasan_check_range+0x10c/0x1c0 (?:?) __asan_memcpy+0x27/0x70 (?:?) snd_seq_event_dup+0x9/0x470 (?:?) snd_seq_client_enqueue_event+0x139/0x240 (?:?) _raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore+0x4b/0x60 (?:?) snd_seq_kernel_client_enqueue+0x102/0x120 (?:?) snd_seq_oss_write+0x416/0x4e0 (?:?) apparmor_file_permission+0x20/0x30 (?:?) odev_write+0x3b/0x60 (?:?) vfs_write+0x1ce/0x850 (?:?) lock_release+0xc8/0x2a0 (?:?) __kasan_check_write+0x18/0x20 (?:?) __mutex_unlock_slowpath+0x129/0x510 (?:?) ksys_write+0xe1/0x180 (?:?) mutex_unlock+0x16/0x20 (?:?) odev_ioctl+0x65/0xc0 (?:?) __x64_sys_write+0x46/0x60 (?:?) x64_sys_call+0x7d/0x20d0 (?:?) do_syscall_64+0xc1/0x360 (arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:87) entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f (?:?)

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Meta Information

Published
2026-08-15
Last Modified
2026-08-15
Generated
2026-08-15
AI Q&A
2026-08-15
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
EUVD

Affected Vendors & Products

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

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability is a Use-After-Free (UAF) issue in the Linux kernel's ALSA sequencer subsystem, specifically in the OSS (Open Sound System) sequencer. It occurs when SysEx MIDI data is processed, creating an event with a pointer to the original data. If the sequencer port is closed before the event is dispatched, the resources are freed while the event still holds a stale pointer, leading to a UAF when the event is later processed.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's ALSA sequencer subsystem and requires kernel-level detection. Check if your kernel version includes the fix by running uname -a and comparing against patched versions. Monitor kernel logs for slab-use-after-free errors related to snd_seq_event_dup.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code or cause a system crash by exploiting the UAF condition. It may lead to privilege escalation, data corruption, or denial of service if the affected system processes malicious MIDI data through the OSS sequencer.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the kernel patch that extends refcounting in snd_seq_oss_process_event(). Update to a kernel version containing the fix. If immediate patching isn't possible, disable the OSS sequencer module by running rmmod snd-seq-oss and blacklist the module to prevent loading.

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