VulnerabilityPublished 14 Oct 2026Updated 26 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98428: Linux kernel · ALSA: usb: 6fire: Avoid embedded URBs

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in d181434549b3da668110a25d743848cce9897f4e : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:07 UTC

Severity

High

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 11% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in d181434549b3da668110a25d743848cce9897f4e, 999f433c09e4668412bd68ca207ae2b4af863862, 52a43c2d57e774489ac3fbbac06ff02f19bd9a52 +3

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 14 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 ≥ c6d43ba816d1cf1d125bfbfc938f2a28a87facf9, < d181434549b3da668110a25d743848cce9897f4e	Fixed in d181434549b3da668110a25d743848cce9897f4e
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ c6d43ba816d1cf1d125bfbfc938f2a28a87facf9, < 999f433c09e4668412bd68ca207ae2b4af863862	Fixed in 999f433c09e4668412bd68ca207ae2b4af863862
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ c6d43ba816d1cf1d125bfbfc938f2a28a87facf9, < 52a43c2d57e774489ac3fbbac06ff02f19bd9a52	Fixed in 52a43c2d57e774489ac3fbbac06ff02f19bd9a52
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ c6d43ba816d1cf1d125bfbfc938f2a28a87facf9, < 9fe49dbc023e82dfaee7b245997d820d01742a9a	Fixed in 9fe49dbc023e82dfaee7b245997d820d01742a9a
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ c6d43ba816d1cf1d125bfbfc938f2a28a87facf9, < 8b8559aeaba2e51cfee1779b2383b085991f7d81	Fixed in 8b8559aeaba2e51cfee1779b2383b085991f7d81
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ c6d43ba816d1cf1d125bfbfc938f2a28a87facf9, < 3ef9093d83ffecb8e5f6c9d5769a52d39df74f7a	Fixed in 3ef9093d83ffecb8e5f6c9d5769a52d39df74f7a

AI-suggested

A fix is available and has been applied in the Linux kernel. Users should update to a kernel version that includes the patch identified by the fixed commit hashes. No additional mitigation steps are required beyond applying the official fix.

Description

CVE-2026-98428 addresses a use-after-free (UAF) vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ALSA USB 6fire driver. The issue arises because the driver uses embedded USB Request Blocks (URBs) in various structs, which is problematic due to asynchronous release and reference counting. The fix replaces embedded URBs with dynamically allocated URBs using usb_alloc_urb(), eliminating the risk of UAF. No functional changes were introduced, only memory management improvements.

Impact

This vulnerability could lead to use-after-free conditions in the USB 6fire driver, potentially causing kernel memory corruption or crashes. However, there is no indication of active exploitation in the wild. The impact is limited to affected Linux kernel versions using this driver.

Summary

The Linux kernel ALSA USB 6fire driver previously embedded URBs directly in different structs for PCM, MIDI, and communication. Since URBs are managed with reference counting and can be released asynchronously, this embedded approach could lead to use-after-free vulnerabilities. The patch converts these embedded URBs into pointers to dynamically allocated URBs via usb_alloc_urb(), with corresponding updates to caller code and resource cleanup in destructor functions. This change prevents UAF conditions without altering driver functionality.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 09:30 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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