CVE-2026-46146 ALSA: usb-audio: Avoid potential endless loop in convert_chmap_v3()

Medium 5.5 Published Updated

A malformed USB audio descriptor can cause an endless loop in the Linux kernel, leading to a denial of service.

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

What is CVE-2026-46146?

CVE-2026-46146 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 28 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: usb-audio: Avoid potential endless loop in convert_chmap_v3()

The convert_chmap_v3() has a loop with its increment size of cs_desc->wLength, but we forgot to validate cs_desc->wLength itself, which may lead to potential endless loop by a malformed descriptor.

Add a proper size check to abort the loop for plugging the hole.

Weakness: CWE-835

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-46146?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-46146?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.

Is CVE-2026-46146 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-46146 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as AZL-88890, BELL-CVE-2026-46146, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-46146, GHSA-pvph-jwxq-qcxw, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-46146, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-46146 and 3 more.

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