In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: timer: Clear SNDRV_TIMER_IFLG_DEAD once the close completes s…
CVE-2026-74503 · published 15 Aug 2026
How serious is it
- Severity: high, CVSS score 7.8 out of 10.
- No exploit prediction (EPSS) score yet.
- Not on the CISA list of exploited vulnerabilities.
- No public exploit in Exploit-DB.
Is your app affected by CVE-2026-74503?
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Who is affected
- Linux Linux: 7.1
How to check
- Find out whether you run the affected product and which version, then compare it with the versions above.
How to fix
Copies a prompt for Claude Code, Cursor or Codex that asks it to check whether you run this product.
- Apply the vendor's update or mitigation from the references below. If there is none yet, limit exposure of the affected service until there is.
- If a vulnerable version was live, check your logs and rotate the secrets that server could read.
The advisory
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.
Check your whole app
Dependencies are only half of it. Free and read-only: before you push, run npx shippable-dev scan localhost:3000 in your project folder, no account needed. For your live app, you prove it's yours with a one-line tag first.
References
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c561fab50991df10b1e4daca25886c34a2a9c07
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/a26a2e52736f9e39843ca66a2e1ce6bf1adbcd1e
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/bb016091010ec401a06e6bdace0cd944ee03d371
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/c2744d5f3aea474513fd2298daecb94a952ce441
Merged from NVD. Last updated 24 Oct 2026. All vulnerabilities · RSS · JSON