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alsa-lib CVE-2026-96675

| EUVDEUVD-2026-85347 MEDIUM
Improper Validation of Array Index (CWE-129)
2026-09-23 VulnCheck GHSA-3gf2-g4r5-8vxr
Denial Of Service Red Hat Suse Alsa Lib Alsa Project
4.8
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: VulnCheck
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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
CWE-129
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Array index validation
Impact

This is a low-severity, availability-only denial of service, and the multi-source signals are consistent in downplaying real-world urgency. The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L, score 4.8) shows a LOCAL attack vector requiring low-level privileges (PR:L) with only limited availability impact (VA:L) and no confidentiality or integrity impact - the CWE-129 improper array-index validation causes an out-of-bounds read and an assert() abort, i.e. the application crashes rather than being taken over. No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public exploit are present in the input, and no SSVC decision data was provided. The one caveat is the attack precondition: the attacker must be able to supply or cause loading of a malicious ALSA configuration file, which typically means either the victim runs an attacker-controlled config or a low-privileged local user crafts one - this is closer to a local self-inflicted or shared-config-abuse crash than a remotely triggerable outage. Net: this is a genuine but minor robustness bug, not a priority patch for most environments; prioritize only where untrusted ALSA configs can reach a privileged audio process. No data conflicts were observed - CVSS local vector aligns with the config-file-based description.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 23, 2026

Local denial of service in alsa-lib through 1.2.16.1 allows a local user with low privileges to crash applications that use the multi PCM plugin by supplying a crafted ALSA configuration file containing sparse binding indices. The flaw is an improper validation of array index (CWE-129) that leads to an out-of-bounds read and an assertion failure, aborting the process. No public exploit code has been identified, and the issue is assessed as low severity with availability-only impact; patching is available via upstream PR 527.

RemediationAI

Apply the upstream fix from GitHub PR 527 (https://github.com/alsa-project/alsa-lib/pull/527), which adds proper bounds validation for sparse binding indices and other hardening; a released patched version is not independently confirmed, so monitor the alsa-lib project for a tagged release beyond 1.2.16.1. As a workaround, restrict write access to ALSA configuration files (typically under /etc/alsa, /usr/share/alsa, and user home directories) to trusted users only, and avoid loading configuration files from untrusted sources. Because the attack requires local access and the ability to supply a crafted configuration file, limiting local accounts and auditing configuration file integrity reduces exposure. The patch also addresses path traversal and size overflow issues, but applying it may change behavior for configurations using out-of-range channel definitions, so test in a controlled environment before deployment.

Affected VersionsENISA

alsa-lib 0 ≤1.2.16.1

Affected Packages

euvd alsa_lib no fix

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

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Technical ContextAI · show details

The ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture) library provides user-space audio support on Linux, and its PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) multi plugin allows combining several slave PCM devices into a single virtual device. The vulnerability resides in snd_pcm_multi_open within src/pcm/pcm_multi.c, where the code fails to validate sparse binding indices (sidxs and schannels arrays) before using them to access slave channel counts. This improper validation of array index (CWE-129) permits an out-of-bounds read when a malicious configuration file defines sparse bindings, triggering an assertion failure and abort. The affected CPE is cpe:2.3:a:alsa_project:alsa-lib:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* (all versions through 1.2.16.1), and the referenced source lines (1122-1131) confirm the missing bounds checks. The patch PR also includes hardening for configuration path traversal, channel count limits, topology size overflows, and UCM path escapes, indicating a broader security review of the library.

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Severity by source

Vendor (VulnCheck) PRIMARY 4.8 MEDIUM
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE 3.3 LOW
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Red Hat 5.5 MEDIUM

Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).

CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
None
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
None
Vulnerable system: Integrity
None
Vulnerable system: Availability
Low
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
None
Subsequent system: Integrity
None
Subsequent system: Availability
None

DescriptionCVE.org

alsa-lib through 1.2.16.1 contains a denial of service vulnerability in the multi PCM plugin that fails to validate sparse binding indices before array access. Attackers can supply a malicious ALSA configuration file with sparse bindings to trigger an out-of-bounds array read and assertion failure, causing the application to abort.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 99% exploitable
Data Quality
7 sources
Confidence: High
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS Vulnrichment MSRC Vendor GitHub VulDB

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.1%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

24
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +24
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service MEDIUM

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

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Same technique Denial Of Service

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CVE-2011-0611 HIGH POC
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Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Low
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 Affected

References

Advisories & patches
PATCH https://github.com/alsa-project/alsa-lib/pull/527 ADVISORY https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-96675 ADVISORY https://vuldb.com/vuln/409021 REF https://github.com/alsa-project/alsa-lib REF https://github.com/alsa-project/alsa-lib/blob/v1.2.16.1/src/pcm/pcm_multi.c#L1122-L1131 REF https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/alsa-lib-through-1.2.16.1-denial-of-service-via-pcm-multi

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