# CVE-2026-23318: ALSA: usb-audio: Use correct version for UAC3 header validation

> A malicious USB device can trigger out-of-bounds reads in the Linux kernel ALSA driver due to incorrect UAC3 header validation, potentially causing crashes or information disclosure.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 25 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-80595, BELL-CVE-2026-23318, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23318, GHSA-x63j-v2j2-m8fv, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-23318, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-23318, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-23318, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-23318, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23318, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23318

## What is CVE-2026-23318?

CVE-2026-23318 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

ALSA: usb-audio: Use correct version for UAC3 header validation

The entry of the validators table for UAC3 AC header descriptor is
defined with the wrong protocol version UAC_VERSION_2, while it should
have been UAC_VERSION_3.  This results in the validator never matching
for actual UAC3 devices (protocol == UAC_VERSION_3), causing their
header descriptors to bypass validation entirely.  A malicious USB
device presenting a truncated UAC3 header could exploit this to cause
out-of-bounds reads when the driver later accesses unvalidated
descriptor fields.

The bug was introduced in the same commit as the recently fixed UAC3
feature unit sub-type typo, and appears to be from the same copy-paste
error when the UAC3 section was created from the UAC2 section.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23318?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23318?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23318 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23318 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-23318 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23318 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23318 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23318/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23318/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23318
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23318
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23318

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23318/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.