High 7.9Known exploited (CISA KEV)Published Jan 30, 2023

CVE-2023-0266Use after free in SNDRV_CTL_IOCTL_ELEM in Linux Kernel

Updated under an hour ago (Oct 26, 2026, 4:23 PM ET)

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It affects Linux Kernel and 2 other products. Add what you run to find out whether that includes you.

CISA lists it as known exploited since Mar 30, 2023; federal agencies had to remediate by Apr 20, 2023. Treat that date as your deadline.

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Exploited in the last 30 days

A use after free vulnerability exists in the ALSA PCM package in the Linux Kernel. SNDRV_CTL_IOCTL_ELEM_{READ|WRITE}32 is missing locks that can be used in a use-after-free that can result in a priviledge escalation to gain ring0 access from the system user. We recommend upgrading past commit 56b88b50565cd8b946a2d00b0c83927b7ebb055e

CVSS: 7.9 HIGH (v3.1, CNA)CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:H
Weakness (CWE): CWE-416
Known exploited: Added to CISA KEV Mar 30, 2023; federal remediation due Apr 20, 2023Apply updates per vendor instructions.
EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days): 3.67% (percentile 90)
Assigned by: Google
NVD analysis: Analyzed
Record last updated: Oct 21, 2025
First seen by InfoSec Signals: Oct 9, 2026

Affected products

Affected products

Linux Linux Kernel linux:kernel (from the name)	from 4.14 before 56b88b50565cd8b946a2d00b0c83927b7ebb055e	CNA record
debian debian_linux debian:debian_linux	10.0	NVD
linux linux_kernel linux:linux_kernel	from 4.14 before 4.14.303; from 4.15 before 4.19.270; from 4.20 before 5.4.229; from 5.5 before 5.10.163; from 5.11 before 5.15.88; from 5.16 before 6.1.6	NVD

References

References

https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/becf9e5d553c2389d857a3c178ce80fdb34a02e1	patch
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/stable-queue.git/tree/queue-5.10/alsa-pcm-move-rwsem-lock-inside-snd_ctl_elem_read-to-prevent-uaf.patch?id=72783cf35e6c55bca84c4bb7b776c58152856fd4	mailing-list, patch, vendor-advisory
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/56b88b50565cd8b946a2d00b0c83927b7ebb055e	patch
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/05/msg00006.html	mailing-list, third-party-advisory
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-0266	us-government-resource

The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry

The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.