CVE-2026-46004

/// Technical description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ALSA: caiaq: Handle probe errors properly

The probe procedure of setup_card() in caiaq driver doesn't treat the

error cases gracefully, e.g. the error from snd_card_register() calls

snd_card_free() but continues. This would lead to a UAF for the

further calls like snd_usb_caiaq_control_init(), as Berk suggested in

another patch in the link below.

However, the problem is not only that; in general, this function drops

the all error handlings (as it's a void function) although its caller

can propagate an error to snd_probe(), which eventually calls

snd_card_free() as a proper error path. That said, we should treat

each error case in setup_card(), and just return the error code

promptly, which is then handled later as a fatal error in snd_probe().

This patch achieves it by changing the setup_card() to return an error

code. Also, the superfluous snd_card_free() call is removed, too.

Note that card->private_free can

/// Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

/// References