Executive brief
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's audio subsystem (ALSA) could allow for resource leaks or incorrect task reporting. This affects systems using compressed audio offloading, potentially leading to memory exhaustion or unstable system behavior over time. An attacker could exploit this to degrade system performance or cause a denial of service.
Technical details
A vulnerability in snd_compr_task_new() in sound/core/compress_offload.c occurs because the driver task is allocated before validating DMA buffers and reserving file descriptors. If validation or FD reservation fails, the kernel fails to call the driver's task_free() callback, resulting in a memory leak of driver-allocated resources. Additionally, a logic error in the dual-FD allocation path fails to propagate error codes, potentially causing the kernel to incorrectly report success for a failed task creation. This is a local vulnerability requiring the ability to interact with ALSA compressed offload interfaces. Patches have been released for various stable kernel branches.
Affected products
- Linux Linux 6.13, 6.18.39, 7.1.4
Timeline
- 2026-07-25: advisory: NVD publication date
- 2026-07-25: patched: Fixes merged into stable kernel trees