Medium 5.5Published May 27, 2026

CVE-2026-46048ALSA: caiaq: fix usb_dev refcount leak on probe failure

Updated under an hour ago (Oct 26, 2026, 2:23 PM ET)

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Exploited in the last 30 days

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: caiaq: fix usb_dev refcount leak on probe failure create_card() takes a reference on the USB device with usb_get_dev() and stores the matching usb_put_dev() in card_free(), which is installed as the snd_card's ->private_free destructor. However, ->private_free is only assigned near the end of init_card(), after several failure points (usb_set_interface(), EP type checks, usb_submit_urb(), the EP1_CMD_GET_DEVICE_INFO exchange, and its timeout). When any of those fail, init_card() returns an error to snd_probe(), which calls snd_card_free(card). Because ->private_free is still NULL, card_free() never runs, the usb_get_dev() reference is not dropped, and the struct usb_device leaks along with its descriptor allocations and device_private. syzbot reproduces this with a malformed UAC3 device whose only valid altsetting is 0; init_card()'s usb_set_interface(usb_dev, 0, 1) call fails with -EIO and triggers the leak. Move the ->private_free assignment into create_card(), immediately after usb_get_dev(), so that every error path reaching snd_card_free() balances the reference. card_free()'s callees (snd_usb_caiaq_input_free, free_urbs, kfree) already tolerate the partially-initialized state because the chip private area is zero-initialized by snd_card_new().

CVSS: 5.5 MEDIUM (v3.1, NVD)CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness (CWE): Not given
Known exploited: Not in CISA's KEV catalog
EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days): Not loaded for this CVE
Assigned by: Linux
NVD analysis: Analyzed
Record last updated: Jun 14, 2026
First seen by InfoSec Signals: Oct 9, 2026

Affected products

Affected products

Linux Linux linux:linux (from the name)	from 493b3a682ededc804555755f5d2193201339612d before c874db8a1d2f9f08161470d00cfe8db2f5cca2cc; from dbcf7588e8dea017ddb3f18ec2766f7d2e5f2a0e before 6fa8dff64fb6c401ced40a05797b327659317498; from ac7345f68cda6989016d85d63f7b244c064aa8f6 before a8d907acc3e5a078c2e5637ff60c30c6d2ddc23a; from f6634af5de728a46792f674a66d7843570cb68f7 before 50c6a1f05973f56d23280c9d7645a7a5734e0907; from 1d9be95aee6c6246a21752e60c9519902649f482 before da3b8fd6a202d94fef11a443abc9171c52426a1c; from 6473ed16df1fe88051140611b3eb9a49be7f429e before 6153878c5255bb69b7d0868105ca078ef13cbcf8; 59b622a043cffc58b7638cd85ae6c30a0904f8e6 builds before 21ca595aafa40d3ac70eab1f4cb62cc00ca21657; 80bb50e2d459213cccff3111d5ef98ed4238c0d5 builds before 7a5f1cd22d47f8ca4b760b6334378ae42c1bd24b	CNA record
linux linux_kernel linux:linux_kernel	from 6.6.136 before 6.6.140; from 6.12.84 before 6.12.86; from 6.18.25 before 6.18.27; from 7.0.2 before 7.0.4; 7.1	NVD

References

References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c874db8a1d2f9f08161470d00cfe8db2f5cca2cc	patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6fa8dff64fb6c401ced40a05797b327659317498	patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a8d907acc3e5a078c2e5637ff60c30c6d2ddc23a	patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/50c6a1f05973f56d23280c9d7645a7a5734e0907	patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/da3b8fd6a202d94fef11a443abc9171c52426a1c	patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6153878c5255bb69b7d0868105ca078ef13cbcf8	patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/21ca595aafa40d3ac70eab1f4cb62cc00ca21657	patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7a5f1cd22d47f8ca4b760b6334378ae42c1bd24b	patch

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.