Answer in brief
CVE-2026-74503 records a High severity (CVSS 7.8) vulnerability in ALSA: timer: Clear SNDRV_TIMER_IFLG_DEAD once the close completes. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
Analysis pending evidence review
HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.
CVSS is 7.8. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.
Analysis status
Analysis pending evidence review
Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.
The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
| Package | Affected range | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | >=586b219a22b1032b28b8bd356b963276c5e5bf53 <bb016091010ec401a06e6bdace0cd944ee03d371 || >=f46093dd22969037beb1fce2e043f3236be41c92 <a26a2e52736f9e39843ca66a2e1ce6bf1adbcd1e || >=da3039e91d1f835874ed6e9a33ea19ee80c2cb92 <0c561fab50991df10b1e4daca25886c34a2a9c07 || >=da3039e91d1f835874ed6e9a33ea19ee80c2cb92 <c2744d5f3aea474513fd2298daecb94a952ce441 || 60e73ab87b84bbd6bd7ddd1d16019a3a3705ab8f || >=6.12.94 <6.12.103 || >=6.18.36 <6.18.44 || >=7.0.13 <7.1 | bb016091010ec401a06e6bdace0cd944ee03d371, a26a2e52736f9e39843ca66a2e1ce6bf1adbcd1e, 0c561fab50991df10b1e4daca25886c34a2a9c07, c2744d5f3aea474513fd2298daecb94a952ce441, 6.12.103, 6.18.44, 7.1 |
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | 7.1 | Not reported |
Published upstream
Aug 15, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordSource modified
Aug 17, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordFirst seen by HOL
Aug 15, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: timer: Clear SNDRV_TIMER_IFLG_DEAD once the close completes snd_timer_close_locked() marks an instance with SNDRV_TIMER_IFLG_DEAD and returns early when the flag is already set, but the flag is never cleared again. A completed close ends in remove_slave_links(), which leaves timeri->timer NULL, so a second close is already harmless through the timer == NULL path; the early return can only be reached by an instance that was opened again in between. For such an instance the close unlinks nothing, so snd_timer_instance_free() frees an object that is still on timer->open_list_head, still on snd_timer_master_list if it was opened with a slave key, still owns any adopted slaves, and still holds its timer and module references. snd_seq_timer_open() reopens an instance exactly like that: it retries its fallback open on the same object after a failure that has already run snd_timer_close_locked() internally. An unprivileged user with access to /dev/snd/timer and /dev/snd/seq can force that failure, since snd_timer_check_master() returns -EBUSY when a pending slave matches the new master's (slave_class, slave_id) key and the target timer has reached max_instances, and SNDRV_TIMER_IOCTL_SELECT with dev_class = SNDRV_TIMER_CLASS_SLAVE keeps the caller-supplied dev_sclass, so a sequencer queue's key can be forged. The freed instance is afterwards dereferenced by any further snd_timer_open() on that timer, by snd_timer_check_slave(), and by /proc/asound/timers, which faults on the stale ti->owner pointer. The flag only has to be visible while the close is in progress, which is all its other users need. Clear it in remove_slave_links(), under the same timer->lock that sets it, once the instance is off every list.
Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.