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Linux Kernel EUVDEUVD-2026-55301

| CVE-2026-68200 HIGH
2026-08-10 Linux GHSA-78vp-jqhh-pcc3
7.8
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Linux
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Severity by source

Vendor (Linux) PRIMARY
7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI
7.8 HIGH

Local unprivileged device access required (PR:L, AV:L); race is repeatably triggerable at low complexity (AC:L) yielding full kernel memory compromise (C:H/I:H/A:H).

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

Primary rating from Vendor (Linux).

CVSS VectorVendor: Linux

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

Lifecycle Timeline

5
Analysis Generated
Aug 14, 2026 - 01:37 vuln.today
CVSS changed
Aug 13, 2026 - 23:37 NVD
7.8 (HIGH)
Patch available
Aug 10, 2026 - 14:18 EUVD
CVE Published
Aug 10, 2026 - 12:00 cve.org
HIGH 7.8
CVE Published
Aug 10, 2026 - 12:00 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)

DescriptionCVE.org

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

ALSA: timer: don't re-enter an instance callback that is still running

The userspace-driven timer (utimer) TRIGGER ioctl calls snd_timer_interrupt() directly with no serialization, so two threads triggering the same utimer can run snd_timer_interrupt() on one snd_timer concurrently.

snd_timer_process_callbacks() drops timer->lock around each instance callback and marks the in-flight callback with the single SNDRV_TIMER_IFLG_CALLBACK bit; snd_timer_close_locked() waits on that bit to drain an in-flight callback before freeing the instance. The bit cannot represent two concurrent callbacks: when a second interrupt re-queues an instance whose callback is still running, both run at once, the first to finish clears the bit, and the close-path drain then frees the instance (and its callback_data) while the other callback is still live - a use-after-free reachable by any user able to open /dev/snd/timer, both via a user timer instance and via a sequencer queue timer bound to the utimer.

snd_timer_interrupt() sets IFLG_CALLBACK before dropping timer->lock, so a concurrent interrupt already observes it under the lock. Skip re-queuing an instance (and its slaves) to the ack/sack list while its callback is in flight; the accumulated pticks are delivered on the next tick, so no event is lost.

AnalysisAI

Use-after-free in the Linux kernel ALSA timer subsystem allows a local unprivileged user to corrupt kernel memory and potentially escalate privileges. The flaw resides in the userspace-driven timer (utimer) path: the in-flight callback state is tracked by a single bit that cannot represent two concurrent callbacks, so racing two TRIGGER ioctls against the same utimer frees the instance while a second callback is still executing against that memory. The vulnerability is reachable by any user who can open /dev/snd/timer, including via sequencer queue timers bound to a utimer; no public exploit code has been identified and EPSS probability is low at 0.21%.

Technical ContextAI

The vulnerable code lives in the ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture) kernel timer subsystem, specifically the userspace-driven timer (utimer) feature introduced to allow userspace processes to drive ALSA timer events via ioctl. The race is in snd_timer_process_callbacks(): it drops timer->lock around each instance callback and uses the single SNDRV_TIMER_IFLG_CALLBACK flag bit as a binary semaphore for in-flight callback tracking. snd_timer_close_locked() waits on this bit before freeing the instance, but the bit is non-counting - when a second concurrent TRIGGER ioctl re-queues an instance already mid-callback, both run simultaneously. The first to finish clears the flag, causing the close path to free callback_data while the second callback holds a dangling pointer. This is a classic concurrent use-after-free / TOCTOU pattern. NVD lists CWE as N/A, but the root cause maps to CWE-416 (Use After Free) triggered via CWE-362 (Race Condition). Affected CPE: cpe:2.3:a:linux:linux across multiple stable branches; EUVD identifies the vulnerability introduction at commit 37745918e0e7575bc40f38da93a99b9fa6406224.

RemediationAI

The primary remediation is to upgrade to a patched kernel version: 6.12.101, 6.18.42, or 7.1.6 for the respective stable series, or to 7.2-rc5 on mainline. Upstream fix commits are available at https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/996c24377eea4d4506b7c3ccbbf1e490440b5e0b, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1395327a96614885552bae5fbb650e6dd182d49b, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c1078130a4cd7e738f4b73afe99b3e68cbfbf884, and https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/70d28bfcd6224eed75986b3b987b997e59643fa4. Where immediate kernel upgrades are not feasible, restrict access to /dev/snd/timer by removing non-essential users from the audio group and applying a udev rule setting mode 660 with a tightly controlled owning group - this eliminates unprivileged exploitation at the cost of losing audio access for affected users. On container orchestration platforms, audit and remove /dev/snd device pass-throughs from untrusted workload definitions until patched kernels are deployed on host nodes. Disabling the snd_timer kernel module (modprobe -r snd_timer) is a more aggressive workaround but will break all ALSA timer-dependent audio applications.

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Moderate
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Not-Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Not-Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Not-Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Not-Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.0 Not-Affected

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EUVD-2026-55301 vulnerability details – vuln.today

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