HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2026-43437
HIGH

CVE-2026-43437

Published: May 8, 2026· Updated: May 12, 2026

7.8
CVSS v3.1
EPSS:0.01%probability of exploitation in 30 daysPercentile:1.8th

Official Description

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

ALSA: pcm: fix use-after-free on linked stream runtime in snd_pcm_drain()

In the drain loop, the local variable 'runtime' is reassigned to a

linked stream's runtime (runtime = s->runtime at line 2157). After

releasing the stream lock at line 2169, the code accesses

runtime->no_period_wakeup, runtime->rate, and runtime->buffer_size

(lines 2170-2178) — all referencing the linked stream's runtime without

any lock or refcount protecting its lifetime.

A concurrent close() on the linked stream's fd triggers

snd_pcm_release_substream() → snd_pcm_drop() → pcm_release_private()

→ snd_pcm_unlink() → snd_pcm_detach_substream() → kfree(runtime).

No synchronization prevents kfree(runtime) from completing while the

drain path dereferences the stale pointer.

Fix by caching the needed runtime fields (no_period_wakeup, rate,

buffer_size) into local variables while still holding the stream lock,

and using the cached values after the lock is released.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2026-43437 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.

Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 7.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.Low
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

Mentioned vendors (from description):
Linux
CPE data not yet available in NVD for this CVE.

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

All References (7)

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2026-43437
CVSS Score7.8 / 10
SeverityHIGH
CISA KEVNo
EPSS (30d)0.01%
PublishedMay 8, 2026

Recommended Actions

  • Apply vendor patches immediately
  • Monitor CVE-2026-43437 in threat intel feeds
  • Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.