# CVE-2026-31701: ALSA: caiaq: take a reference on the USB device in create_card()

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel ALSA caiaq driver allows attackers to cause a denial of service or potentially execute code via improper USB device reference handling.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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:** 1 May 2026
- **Updated:** 14 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-31701, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31701, GHSA-pf8h-4wmf-9gv4, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-31701, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-31701, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-31701, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-31701, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31701

## What is CVE-2026-31701?

CVE-2026-31701 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 May 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: caiaq: take a reference on the USB device in create_card()

The caiaq driver stores a pointer to the parent USB device in
cdev->chip.dev but never takes a reference on it. The card's
private_free callback, snd_usb_caiaq_card_free(), can run
asynchronously via snd_card_free_when_closed() after the USB
device has already been disconnected and freed, so any access to
cdev->chip.dev in that path dereferences a freed usb_device.

On top of the refcounting issue, the current card_free implementation
calls usb_reset_device(cdev->chip.dev). A reset in a free callback
is inappropriate: the device is going away, the call takes the
device lock in a teardown context, and the reset races with the
disconnect path that the callback is already cleaning up after.

Take a reference on the USB device in create_card() with
usb_get_dev(), drop it with usb_put_dev() in the free callback,
and remove the usb_reset_device() call.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-31701?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-31701?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-31701 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-31701 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-2026-31701 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-31701 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 May 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-2026-31701 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-2026-31701/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31701/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-31701
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-31701
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-31701

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31701/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.