Impact
The ALSA ASoC subsystem in the Linux kernel has a flaw that can cause a use‑after‑free when a sound card is unbound while audio streams are still active. The vulnerability occurs in the delayed‑work routine scheduled during the card unbinding process, which may reference DAPM widgets that have already been freed. A successful exploitation could corrupt kernel memory or lead to arbitrary code execution, and the impact is encapsulated by the CVSS score of 7.3.
Affected Systems
All Linux kernel builds that include the ALSA ASoC core before the posted fix are affected. The CPE data lists Linux kernel versions 7.0 releases candidates (RC1, RC2, RC3) and other kernels over that tree. Any distribution shipping an unpatched kernel with the vulnerable ASoC implementation is at risk.
Risk and Exploitability
The vulnerability is a local‑only issue; an attacker must trigger the unbind while streams are open, which normally requires local or root privileges. The EPSS score is less than 1 %, indicating a low probability of immediate exploitation. The vulnerability is not in CISA’s KEV set, and no public exploits are known. If successfully triggered, the use‑after‑free can lead to kernel panic or error codes, or if an attacker gains control, to escalated privileges.
OpenCVE Enrichment
Debian DLA