NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-98308
Published: October 7, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU153709
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4: 6.8 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-98308
CWE-ID: CWE-476
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a local user to cause a denial of service.
The vulnerability exists due to a NULL pointer dereference in the ALSA HDA PCM open tracepoint when stream assignment fails because hardware streams are exhausted. A local user can attempt to open a PCM substream under these conditions to cause a denial of service.
The tracepoint payload accesses the assigned stream tag before checking whether stream assignment succeeded.
Affected software
Linux kernel
Debian Linux
linux (Debian package)
Debian Linux
linux (Debian package)
How to mitigate CVE-2026-98308
Install security update from vendor's repository.
Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
linux (Debian package) - update to 6.12.113-1
linux (Debian package) - update to 6.12.113-1
External References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0a52ba6d3b268bb82f0ec4cb861bc68d252369c0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3c6ca6d9342f4a0be7c1413180e11023d13b5cde
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3db8afba2d210b7d80cd5cc6b76d7f46daa9b47a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a4c974dee03cc46eac43c82f33e34ec94f0b348
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5c89e7965220e85d06ae4c58adb7d7bb6da2440c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8477643cb91c9e09ac1b11890eef421ae63e53f7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c9e6e5f38bf75276605f1952b22285f5f3abcaff
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fba079ea22822248c82c3a999c88676d05b17bda