VulnerabilityPublished 6 Oct 2026Updated 19 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98314: Linux kernel · ALSA: pcm: set timer->private_data before registering the PCM timer

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in e1eee8f16628f8b6bcae0a366fd6a2dd65e71edd : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated Medium by Threat Radar's AI analysis · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 7% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in e1eee8f16628f8b6bcae0a366fd6a2dd65e71edd, d63f5a9f8121fb43c798056d7dd34c58f47185d7, 686c7a6af1eea8d2a919303e4c6bbec3de79dbdc +5

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 6 Oct 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < e1eee8f16628f8b6bcae0a366fd6a2dd65e71edd	Fixed in e1eee8f16628f8b6bcae0a366fd6a2dd65e71edd
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < d63f5a9f8121fb43c798056d7dd34c58f47185d7	Fixed in d63f5a9f8121fb43c798056d7dd34c58f47185d7
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < 686c7a6af1eea8d2a919303e4c6bbec3de79dbdc	Fixed in 686c7a6af1eea8d2a919303e4c6bbec3de79dbdc
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < 555d168bd98daa46daccc68c908201388c834293	Fixed in 555d168bd98daa46daccc68c908201388c834293
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < 27f167e117eca310661fbcbacb352ea08face067	Fixed in 27f167e117eca310661fbcbacb352ea08face067
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < 8c869d5cf5affb20994bdbb60e7d46d65c91b55f	Fixed in 8c869d5cf5affb20994bdbb60e7d46d65c91b55f

AI-suggested

A fix is available and has been applied in the Linux kernel source code as indicated by multiple fixed commit versions. Users should update their Linux kernel to a version including these fixes to remediate the issue.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel ALSA PCM timer implementation could cause a NULL-pointer dereference due to a race condition where timer->private_data is accessed before being set. This occurs because the timer is registered in the global timer list before its private_data field is initialized, allowing concurrent access to a NULL pointer.

Impact

This vulnerability can cause a NULL-pointer dereference in the ALSA PCM timer code, potentially leading to a kernel crash (denial of service). There is no indication of privilege escalation or code execution. No known exploits in the wild have been reported.

Summary

The Linux kernel ALSA subsystem's snd_pcm_timer_init() function registers a new snd_timer into the global timer list before setting the timer->private_data field. During this brief window, concurrent readers accessing the timer via the register_mutex can invoke callbacks that dereference timer->private_data, which is still NULL, leading to a NULL-pointer dereference. The fix moves the assignment of private_data before the timer registration to ensure the timer is never visible on the list without its private_data set. The failure path remains safe as private_free() only clears substream->timer if it was successfully set.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 11:40 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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