# CVE-2026-53291: ALSA: hda/conexant: Fix missing error check for jack detection

> A missing error check in the Conexant HDA driver can cause a kernel crash when jack detection fails, leading to denial of service.

- **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:** 26 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 26 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-53291, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53291, GHSA-7qh4-cc67-w444, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-53291, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-53291, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-53291

## What is CVE-2026-53291?

CVE-2026-53291 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 Jun 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: hda/conexant: Fix missing error check for jack detection

In cx_probe(), the return value of snd_hda_jack_detect_enable_callback()
is ignored. This function returns a pointer, and if it fails (e.g., due
to memory allocation failure), it returns an error pointer which must
be checked using IS_ERR().

If the registration fails, the driver continues to probe, but the jack
detection callback will not be registered. This can lead to a kernel
crash later when the driver attempts to handle jack events or accesses
the uninitialized structure.

Check the return value using IS_ERR() and propagate the error via
PTR_ERR() to the probe caller.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53291?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-53291?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-53291 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53291 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-2026-53291 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-53291 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 Jun 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-2026-53291 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-2026-53291/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53291/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53291
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53291
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-53291

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53291/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.