CVE-2026-98116

HIGH
Published Sep 25, 2026 Modified Sep 30, 2026

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: pcm: Serialize PCM mmap with buffer reallocation to fix page UAF snd_pcm_hw_params() and snd_pcm_hw_free() guard buffer reallocation with an mmap_count check performed under the PCM stream lock, but the lock is released long before the buffer is actually freed: snd_pcm_sync_stop(), constraint refinement and do_free_pages() all happen in between. snd_pcm_mmap_data(), on the other hand, takes no lock at all: it validates against the old buffer's state and dma_bytes, remaps its pages into the VMA, and only then increments mmap_count. A concurrent mmap() can therefore slip in between the check and the free. remap_pfn_range() installs writable PTEs for the old buffer's pages without taking page references, and the subsequent do_free_pages() returns those pages to the page allocator while the VMA still maps them. This leaves a stale, writable mapping of freed pages: a page-level use-after-free that can be leveraged for local privilege escalation. Make snd_pcm_mmap_data() participate in the buffer-access scheme introduced for hw_params/hw_free: acquire runtime->buffer_accessing before validating and remapping, and release it afterwards. Buffer reallocation already fails with -EBUSY while accessors are active, and the mmap side now fails with -EBUSY while a reallocation is in progress, so the validate/remap sequence and the check/free sequence can no longer interleave. A reproducer that turns this race into a stale writable mapping of the freed DMA buffer pages is available on request.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.8
HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0013
Probability of exploitation
0.02%
Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-98116? +
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: pcm: Serialize PCM mmap with buffer reallocation to fix page UAF snd_pcm_hw_params() and snd_pcm_hw_free() guard buffer reallocation with an mmap_count check performed under the PCM stream lock, but the lock is released long before the buffer is actually freed: snd_pcm_sync_stop(), constraint refinement and do_free_pages() all happen in between. snd_pcm_mmap_data(), on the other hand, takes no lock at all: it validates against the old buffer's state and dma_bytes, remaps its pages into the VMA, and only then increments mmap_count. A concurrent mmap() can therefore slip in between the check and the free. remap_pfn_range() installs writable PTEs for the old buffer's pages without taking page references, and the subsequent do_free_pages() returns those pages to the page allocator while the VMA still maps them. This leaves a stale, writable mapping of freed pages: a page-level use-after-free that can be leveraged for local privilege escalation. Make snd_pcm_mmap_data() participate in the buffer-access scheme introduced for hw_params/hw_free: acquire runtime->buffer_accessing before validating and remapping, and release it afterwards. Buffer reallocation already fails with -EBUSY while accessors are active, and the mmap side now fails with -EBUSY while a reallocation is in progress, so the validate/remap sequence and the check/free sequence can no longer interleave. A reproducer that turns this race into a stale writable mapping of the freed DMA buffer pages is available on request. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH).
How severe is CVE-2026-98116? +
CVE-2026-98116 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0013, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.
How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-98116? +
You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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