{"id":"CVE-2026-98837","title":"kernel: ALSA: caiaq: unregister the input device when probe fails (CVE-2026-98837)","summary":"A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's ALSA caiaq USB audio driver. This flaw allows a local attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) or potentially escalate privileges. When device initialization fails during the probing process, the d…","severity":"medium","cvss":5.5,"cvssVector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","cvssSource":"vendor","cwe":"CWE-825","vendor":"Red Hat","product":"Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9","affected":["enterprise_linux 10","enterprise_linux 6","enterprise_linux 9"],"published":"2026-10-18","updated":"2026-10-23","sourceUpdated":"2026-10-23T21:45:00+00:00","source":"CSAF","sourceUrl":"https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98837.json","references":[{"url":"https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98837.json"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98837"},{"url":"https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2555232"},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98837"},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98837"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98837.mbox"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/df2787819bd137111b56b8631dd581b0cce7144d"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/850810c12686f80cdf7530f4f21e0157d904f739"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/84727facd8506140cd04f2b0a8b1c4ddeac41cea"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2e5a413cc2a489c9427ecd3d73ad764bfb0c7103"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0b7bd20f6379bc5e431fd74d866390f5b5b63f3c"}],"tags":["csaf","vex","red-hat","cve.org"],"epss":0.002,"epssPercentile":0.09734,"ingestedAt":"2026-10-18T16:47:32.469Z","slug":"CVE-2026-98837","body":"## Overview\n\nA flaw was found in the Linux kernel's ALSA caiaq USB audio driver. This flaw allows a local attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) or potentially escalate privileges. When device initialization fails during the probing process, the driver frees internal device state structures while leaving the associated input device registered in the operating system. Accessing device attributes on this dangling input device subsequently triggers a use-after-free condition, leading to a system crash or kernel memory corruption.\n\n## Vendor advisories\n\n- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 · updated 2026-10-23 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98837.json)\n\n**kernel: ALSA: caiaq: unregister the input device when probe fails** — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-23.\n\nAffected:\n\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9\n\nNo fix planned:\n\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9\n\nNot affected:\n\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9\n- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4\n\n## Remediation\n\nOut of support scope","depth":"sunlit","depthScore":30,"depthScoreParts":{"impact":30.3,"likelihood":0,"exploitation":0,"ransomware":0},"changes":[{"seq":228620,"id":"CVE-2026-98837","ts":1792844816697,"field":"cvss","old":null,"new":"5.5"},{"seq":228619,"id":"CVE-2026-98837","ts":1792844816697,"field":"severity","old":"none","new":"medium"}]}