---
id: CVE-2026-98836
title: 'kernel: ALSA: line6: reject oversized playback packets (CVE-2026-98836)'
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound
  Architecture) Line 6 USB audio driver. The driver fails to validate the size
  of playback packets against the allocated memory buffer slice when handling
  asymmetrical audio c…
severity: medium
cvss: 6.2
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-787
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
  - enterprise_linux 7
  - enterprise_linux 8
  - enterprise_linux 9
  - openshift_container_platform 4
published: '2026-10-18'
updated: '2026-10-23'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-23T21:44:53+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98836.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98836.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98836'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2555225'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98836'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98836'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98836.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/933d8ac23388eb208ea195231d682dce0bec86ca'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a84371be89c39ccc46c7af8b9eb15c448df9265f'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3f75da1e4ee699f6650d23d6897cf443b01856c7'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b78748424f29f07d310484b2b36afdececa74389'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/61b0a5a114fa4552892da5c0ff2f42e63bf08c6b'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00168
epssPercentile: 0.05972
ingestedAt: '2026-10-18T16:47:32.468Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture) Line 6 USB audio driver. The driver fails to validate the size of playback packets against the allocated memory buffer slice when handling asymmetrical audio configurations. An attacker capable of connecting a crafted USB device could exploit this vulnerability to cause an out-of-bounds memory write. This issue can lead to kernel memory corruption or a system crash, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, … · updated 2026-10-23 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98836.json)

**kernel: ALSA: line6: reject oversized playback packets** — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-23.

Affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

## Remediation

Fix deferred