Linux Kernel up to 6.18.39/7.1.4 ALSA request_firmware_nowait use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
9.5	$5k-$25k	0.00-

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability labeled as very critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.39/7.1.4. Impacted is the function request_firmware_nowait of the component ALSA. Executing a manipulation can lead to use after free. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-80872. The attack can be launched remotely. No exploit exists.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.39/7.1.4. This vulnerability affects the function request_firmware_nowait of the component ALSA. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: hda/tas2781: Cancel async firmware request at unbind TAS2781 HDA I2C and SPI queue RCA firmware loading from component bind with request_firmware_nowait(). The firmware loader keeps the callback module pinned and holds a device reference, but the callback still uses driver-private HDA state. Component unbind removes controls and DSP state immediately. Later device removal tears down the TAS2781 private data, including codec_lock. If the async firmware callback runs after unbind has started, it can operate on state that is being torn down. Cancel or synchronize the async firmware request before removing controls and DSP state. A queued callback is cancelled, and an already-running callback is allowed to finish before unbind continues.

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-80872 since 08/26/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be initiated remotely. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $5k-$25k (estimation calculated on 09/04/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.18.40 or 7.1.5 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch f8272331da877eec8fe8e89a1e98e6a710e12490/da9e3be9cf31d7138d23e9e2f7ba1c102ef09f07/5367e2ad14f0ae9350a7aaf2e77c87de39a43ae9 is able to eliminate this problem.

Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 7.1.0
• 7.1.1
• 7.1.2
• 7.1.3
• 7.1.4

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 9.9
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5

VulDB Base Score: 9.9
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.18.40/7.1.5
Patch: f8272331da877eec8fe8e89a1e98e6a710e12490/da9e3be9cf31d7138d23e9e2f7ba1c102ef09f07/5367e2ad14f0ae9350a7aaf2e77c87de39a43ae9

Timelineinfo

08/26/2026 CVE reserved
09/04/2026 +9 days Advisory disclosed
09/04/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/04/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-80872 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-80872
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-399052

Entryinfo

Created: 09/04/2026 19:09
Changes: 09/04/2026 19:09 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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