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Linux Kernel EUVDEUVD-2026-27763

| CVE-2026-43204 MEDIUM
2026-05-06 Linux GHSA-c79v-q7h2-4c95
5.5
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Gain local user access on Qualcomm Linux device
  2. Delivery
    Open audio stream via ALSA Q6ASM interface
  3. Exploit
    Close stream while DSP responses are in-flight
  4. Execution
    Kernel processes stale response on closed stream context
  5. Impact
    System lockup / denial of service

Vulnerability Assessment

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires: (1) local access to a Linux system built on Qualcomm SoC hardware with the Q6ASM/ASoC Qualcomm audio driver compiled and loaded; (2) low-privilege local account with access to ALSA audio devices (typically membership in the 'audio' group or equivalent); (3) ability to open and close audio data streams in a timing window where DSP asynchronous responses are in-flight at the moment of stream closure. Systems without Qualcomm audio hardware, or kernels compiled without CONFIG_SND_SOC_QCOM, are not exploitable. Remote exploitation is not possible - AV:L in CVSS confirms strictly local access. Containerized environments that do not expose audio device nodes to the container are not exploitable from within the container. The race timing dependency (AC:L despite being a race) suggests the window is wide enough to be reliably triggered without special tooling.

Impact

Real-world risk is constrained significantly by exploitation conditions. The CVSS vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H correctly reflects a local, low-privilege denial-of-service with no confidentiality or integrity impact - a system lockup, not arbitrary code execution. EPSS at 0.02% (5th percentile) corroborates low exploitation interest, and the vulnerability is absent from CISA KEV. The hardware dependency is the primary risk limiter: exploitation requires a Linux system running on Qualcomm SoC hardware with the Q6ASM driver active - this excludes x86 servers, AMD-based systems, and non-Qualcomm ARM platforms entirely. The 'Information Disclosure' tag present in the source intelligence appears inconsistent with the CVSS C:N metric and the description, which describes only lockups; this tag should be treated as erroneous or unverified. Priority should be moderate for Qualcomm-based Linux fleets (embedded, mobile, ARM laptops) and low-to-negligible for server or x86 environments.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local user on a Qualcomm SoC-based Linux system (such as an ARM laptop or embedded device) opens an audio stream via the ALSA/Q6ASM interface, then rapidly closes it while DSP response messages are still in-flight from the Qualcomm Hexagon DSP. The kernel's Q6ASM response handler processes the stale response against the now-closed stream context, triggering a lockup that hangs the affected kernel thread or causes a system-wide deadlock. No public proof-of-concept exploit is known at time of analysis.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Jul 24, 2026

Kernel lockup in the Qualcomm Q6ASM (Audio Stream Manager) driver allows a local low-privileged user to trigger a system hang by racing audio stream closure against in-flight DSP responses. Affected Linux kernel versions spanning from the initial commit (1da177e4c3f4) up to the stable fixes in 6.19.6 and 7.0 are vulnerable. A prior partial fix (commit a354f030dbce) attempted to suppress post-close DSP response handling but failed to prevent processing, leaving the lockup reachable. No public exploit code exists and no active exploitation has been confirmed - EPSS sits at 0.02% (5th percentile), consistent with a niche hardware-dependent kernel DoS.

RemediationAI

The primary remediation is to update the Linux kernel to version 6.19.6 or 7.0, which contain the upstream fix available at https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8a066a81ee0c1b6cdbd81393536c3b2d19ccef25 and https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3249251eac6081d5169ba09f2d9cca66ab0cab0d. For Red Hat and SUSE deployments, apply the vendor-provided kernel errata once released. If kernel upgrade is not immediately feasible on Qualcomm-based systems, a compensating control is to restrict access to audio devices (e.g., remove users from the 'audio' group, tighten /dev/snd/* permissions) to reduce the set of principals who can open and close Q6ASM streams - note this disables audio functionality for those users. Alternatively, unloading the snd_soc_qcom_q6asm kernel module (if modular) removes the vulnerable code path but eliminates Qualcomm DSP audio entirely. Neither workaround addresses the root cause; kernel patching remains the definitive fix.

Affected VersionsENISA

Linux patch: 6.19.6
Linux patch: 7.0
Linux 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <8a066a81ee0c1b6cdbd81393536c3b2d19ccef25
Linux 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <3249251eac6081d5169ba09f2d9cca66ab0cab0d

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Technical ContextAI · show details

The vulnerability resides in the ASoC (ALSA System on Chip) subsystem, specifically the Qualcomm Q6ASM driver (drivers/soc/qcom/q6asm), which manages audio streams between the Linux CPU and the Qualcomm Hexagon DSP. When a userspace application closes an audio data stream, the DSP may still deliver queued response messages asynchronously. A previous fix (commit a354f030dbce) attempted to handle this race by detecting closed-stream responses and ignoring them, but the response handling path was still executed, creating a deadlock or lockup condition - likely due to lock acquisition on an invalidated or freed stream object. The correct fix unconditionally drops all DSP responses tied to closed data streams. CWE data is absent from the source, but the root cause aligns with CWE-667 (Improper Locking) or CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution Using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization). CPE data identifies the affected product as cpe:2.3:a:linux:linux:*.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 5.5 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
vuln.today AI 5.5 MEDIUM

Local access to Qualcomm audio hardware required (AV:L, PR:L); pure availability lockup with no confidentiality or integrity impact (C:N, I:N, A:H).

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE MEDIUM
Red Hat 5.5 MEDIUM

Primary rating from NVD.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

3
CVSS changed
May 11, 2026 - 20:07 NVD
5.5 (MEDIUM)
Patch available
May 06, 2026 - 13:32 EUVD
CVE Published
May 06, 2026 - 11:28 nvd
MEDIUM 5.5

DescriptionNVD

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

ASoC: qcom: q6asm: drop DSP responses for closed data streams

'Commit a354f030dbce ("ASoC: qcom: q6asm: handle the responses after closing")' attempted to ignore DSP responses arriving after a stream had been closed.

However, those responses were still handled, causing lockups.

Fix this by unconditionally dropping all DSP responses associated with closed data streams.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 95% exploitable
Prevalence
Medium
affects only Qualcomm SoC Linux deployments, not general servers
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

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 0.0%
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· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

28
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +28
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Medium
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP7 Fixed

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