ALSA: usb-audio: Cancel pending work at closing a MIDI substream

Kernel Updated 02 Oct 2025

Summary

28/06/2022

Disclosed on

N/A

Severity

No i

Fix available

Unrated

Severity

Not published

CVSS Score

GSD-2022-1003160: ALSA: usb-audio: Cancel pending work at closing a MIDI substream. Affects Kernel versions < 5e5fe2b6065541c6216a7a003b0cddf386be0d2d. No fix is published. How to fix ↓

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Background

The ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture) is a software framework and part of the Linux kernel that provides an API for sound card device drivers. It allows multiple sound sources to be played on a single sound card simultaneously. The usb-audio driver is a part of ALSA that enables USB audio devices to be used with the Linux system. MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a protocol used for communicating musical information between devices. The usb-audio driver supports MIDI functionality for USB audio devices. However, a vulnerability has been discovered in the usb-audio driver that can be exploited when closing a MIDI substream.

Vulnerability Detail

The vulnerability in the usb-audio driver occurs when closing a MIDI substream. A substream is a logical audio channel within a sound card that can be independently controlled. When closing a MIDI substream, there is a possibility of pending work not being properly canceled. This can lead to a use-after-free vulnerability, where a reference to freed memory is still accessed. An attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial-of-service condition. The vulnerability has been fixed in Linux Kernel version v5.17.14 by commit 5e5fe2b6065541c6216a7a003b0cddf386be0d2d.

How To Fix

No fixed version is published for this vulnerability.

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Conclusion

The ALSA usb-audio driver in the Linux Kernel is vulnerable to a use-after-free vulnerability when closing a MIDI substream. This vulnerability has been fixed in Linux Kernel version v5.17.14. It is recommended to update the Linux Kernel to the fixed version to mitigate the risk of exploitation. For further support on vulnerability remediation, please contact DevNack.com.

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