CVE-2026-98912 - Vulnerability Details

- ALSA: seq: oss: Reject reads that cannot fit the next event

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ALSA: seq: oss: Reject reads that cannot fit the next event

snd_seq_oss_read() checks whether the next queued OSS sequencer event
fits in the remaining userspace buffer before removing it from the read
queue.

The check is inverted. It currently stops when the event is smaller than
the remaining buffer, so a normal 4-byte event is not copied for an
8-byte read buffer. Conversely, an 8-byte event can be copied for a
smaller read count.

Break only when the remaining userspace buffer is smaller than the next
event, and report -EINVAL if no complete event has been copied. This
prevents an undersized read from looking like end-of-file while leaving
the event queued for a later read with a large enough buffer.

Published: 2026-10-23

Score: 4.4 Medium

EPSS: < 1% Very Low

KEV: No

Impact:

Action:

Analysis

Impact

An inverted condition in the Linux kernel’s ALSA OSS sequencer read function causes erroneous handling of the queued event size. When an event larger than the user’s read buffer is processed, data is copied beyond the intended bounds, corrupting kernel memory. Local programs that perform ALSA OSS reads could trigger this overflow, and the resulting kernel memory corruption may destabilize the system. Based on the description, it is inferred that such memory corruption could potentially destabilize the kernel.

Affected Systems

All Linux kernel implementations that include the ALSA OSS sequencer component—generally any Linux system exposing the snd_seq_oss interface—are affected. No specific version range is listed, so the fix applies from the time the vulnerability was discovered onward. Supervisors should verify that their distribution patches include the corrected logic.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score is 4.4, indicating moderate severity, and the EPSS score is <1%, signifying a very low chance of exploitation. The vulnerability can be triggered by a user‑space program that performs ALSA OSS reads and may corrupt kernel memory. Based on the description, it is inferred that kernel memory corruption could potentially cause a system crash. While the risk from exploitation is currently low, the kernel-level impact and ease of triggering the inverted logic mean that patching is still advised.

Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).

Vendor Product Default status Versions

Linux

unaffected

Version	Status	Constraints
`1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2`	affected	< b3b4b647313757a275be7f7f9d0415d0a90acf73
`1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2`	affected	< 591226398c1f93bd994678237ff0be229b19d3bb
`1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2`	affected	< 372bec8a01e2ab8eaa6851bdc346ede5f82dba99
`1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2`	affected	< 2922cf2583e590f51bed613a6fcd27b9aea83674
`1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2`	affected	< 7483fd5f6990f43cc266e94b3f50ce84856ebb97
`1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2`	affected	< 20b8520d1ef996173065f7abdde47b99136c0785
`1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2`	affected	< 611f538253d970f4d152003841544e875828d015

Linux

affected

Version	Status	Constraints
`2.6.12`	affected	—
`0`	unaffected	< 2.6.12
`5.10.271`	unaffected	≤ 5.10.*
`5.15.222`	unaffected	≤ 5.15.*
`6.1.189`	unaffected	≤ 6.1.*
`6.6.158`	unaffected	≤ 6.6.*
`6.12.111`	unaffected	≤ 6.12.*
`6.18.53`	unaffected	≤ 6.18.*
`7.2`	unaffected	≤ *

No data.

Vendor Product Confidence Versions

Linux

100%

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,b3b4b647313757a275be7f7f9d0415d0a90acf73)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,591226398c1f93bd994678237ff0be229b19d3bb)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,372bec8a01e2ab8eaa6851bdc346ede5f82dba99)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,2922cf2583e590f51bed613a6fcd27b9aea83674)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,7483fd5f6990f43cc266e94b3f50ce84856ebb97)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,20b8520d1ef996173065f7abdde47b99136c0785)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,611f538253d970f4d152003841544e875828d015)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[0,5.10.271)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,5.15.222)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,6.1.189)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,6.6.158)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,6.12.111)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,6.18.53)`	affected	semver	—

Linux

100%

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[5.10.271,5.11.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[5.15.222,5.16.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.1.189,6.2.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.6.158,6.7.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.12.111,6.13.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.18.53,6.19.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[7.2,*]`	unaffected	generic	—

Linux

Linux Kernel

100%

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,b3b4b647313757a275be7f7f9d0415d0a90acf73)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,591226398c1f93bd994678237ff0be229b19d3bb)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,372bec8a01e2ab8eaa6851bdc346ede5f82dba99)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,2922cf2583e590f51bed613a6fcd27b9aea83674)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,7483fd5f6990f43cc266e94b3f50ce84856ebb97)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,20b8520d1ef996173065f7abdde47b99136c0785)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,611f538253d970f4d152003841544e875828d015)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[0,5.10.271)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,5.15.222)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,6.1.189)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,6.6.158)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,6.12.111)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,6.18.53)`	affected	semver	—

Linux

Linux Kernel

100%

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[5.10.271,5.11.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[5.15.222,5.16.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.1.189,6.2.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.6.158,6.7.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.12.111,6.13.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.18.53,6.19.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[7.2,*]`	unaffected	generic	—

Found an issue or want to improve our Enrichment? You can suggest it directly by opening an issue on our dedicated GitHub repository .

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

Upgrade the Linux kernel to a release that includes the ALSA OSS read check fix
If immediate kernel upgrade is not possible, disable the snd_seq_oss module or remove OSS support from the ALSA configuration to eliminate the vulnerable interface
Restrict filesystem permissions so that only trusted users can access ALSA OSS read interfaces, limiting exposure to accidental or malicious misreads

Generated by OpenCVE AI on October 29, 2026 at 21:00 UTC.

Tracking

Sign in to view the affected projects.

Advisories

Source	ID	Title
Ubuntu USN	USN-8961-1	Linux kernel vulnerabilities

No CVSS v4.0

Attack Vector Local

Attack Complexity Low

Privileges Required Low

Scope Unchanged

Confidentiality Impact None

Integrity Impact Low

Availability Impact Low

User Interaction None

No CVSS v3.0

No CVSS v2

This CVE is not in the KEV list.

The EPSS score is 0.00187.

Key SSVC decision points have not yet been added.

References

Link	Providers
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98912.mbox
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/20b8520d1ef996173065f7abdde47b99136c0785
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2922cf2583e590f51bed613a6fcd27b9aea83674
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/372bec8a01e2ab8eaa6851bdc346ede5f82dba99
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/591226398c1f93bd994678237ff0be229b19d3bb
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/611f538253d970f4d152003841544e875828d015
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7483fd5f6990f43cc266e94b3f50ce84856ebb97
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b3b4b647313757a275be7f7f9d0415d0a90acf73
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98912
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98912

History

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 12:15:00 +0000

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
References		https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98912.mbox https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98912 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98912
Metrics	threat_severity `None`	cvssV3_1 `{'score': 4.4, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L'}` threat_severity `Moderate`

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Weaknesses		CWE-787

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:30:00 +0000

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
First Time appeared		Linux linux
Vendors & Products		Linux linux

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Description		In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: seq: oss: Reject reads that cannot fit the next event snd_seq_oss_read() checks whether the next queued OSS sequencer event fits in the remaining userspace buffer before removing it from the read queue. The check is inverted. It currently stops when the event is smaller than the remaining buffer, so a normal 4-byte event is not copied for an 8-byte read buffer. Conversely, an 8-byte event can be copied for a smaller read count. Break only when the remaining userspace buffer is smaller than the next event, and report -EINVAL if no complete event has been copied. This prevents an undersized read from looking like end-of-file while leaving the event queued for a later read with a large enough buffer.
Title		ALSA: seq: oss: Reject reads that cannot fit the next event
First Time appeared		Linux Linux linux Kernel
CPEs		cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
Vendors & Products		Linux Linux linux Kernel
References		https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/20b8520d1ef996173065f7abdde47b99136c0785 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2922cf2583e590f51bed613a6fcd27b9aea83674 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/372bec8a01e2ab8eaa6851bdc346ede5f82dba99 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/591226398c1f93bd994678237ff0be229b19d3bb https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/611f538253d970f4d152003841544e875828d015 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7483fd5f6990f43cc266e94b3f50ce84856ebb97 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b3b4b647313757a275be7f7f9d0415d0a90acf73

Subscriptions

Linux Linux Linux Kernel

MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published: 2026-10-23T11:55:04.908Z

Updated: 2026-10-26T06:56:42.752Z

Reserved: 2026-09-25T10:25:14.379Z

Link: CVE-2026-98912

Vulnrichment

No data.

NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-10-23T12:18:25.350

Modified: 2026-10-26T07:17:16.610

Link: CVE-2026-98912

Redhat

Severity : Moderate

Publid Date: 2026-10-23T00:00:00Z

Links: CVE-2026-98912 - Bugzilla

OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-10-29T21:15:15Z

Weaknesses

CWE-787
Out-of-bounds Write

Impact

Affected Systems

Risk and Exploitability

Tracking

Attack Vector Local

Attack Complexity Low

Privileges Required Low

Scope Unchanged

Confidentiality Impact None

Integrity Impact Low

Availability Impact Low

User Interaction None

Subscriptions

JSON object

JSON object

JSON object

JSON object

JSON object