# CVE-2026-74640: ALSA: FCP: fix OOB write in fcp_meter_ctl_get()

> An out-of-bounds write in the Linux kernel ALSA FCP driver allows local attackers to corrupt memory and potentially execute code or escalate privileges.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 22 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 16 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-74640, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74640, GHSA-m9m2-qw72-cj43, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74640

## What is CVE-2026-74640?

CVE-2026-74640 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 22 Aug 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: FCP: fix OOB write in fcp_meter_ctl_get()

fcp_ioctl_set_meter_map() bounds the user-supplied Level Meter map size
by the driver's own limit of 255

	if (map.map_size < 1 || map.map_size > 255 ||
	    map.meter_slots < 1 || map.meter_slots > 255)
		return -EINVAL;

and passes it to fcp_add_new_ctl() as the control's channel count, where
it is stored as elem->channels.

Every control read writes into struct snd_ctl_elem_value, whose integer
array is declared long value[128], so the limit is 128, not 255.
fcp_meter_ctl_get() stores one 64-bit word per channel into that array
with no bound of its own:

	for (i = 0; i < elem->channels; i++) {
		int idx = private->meter_level_map[i];
		int value = idx < 0 ? 0 : le32_to_cpu(resp[idx]);

		ucontrol->value.integer.value[i] = value;
	}

snd_ctl_elem_read_user() serves that object from
memdup_user(_control, sizeof(*control)), 1224 bytes on LP64 out of
kmalloc-2048.  offsetof(struct snd_ctl_elem_value, value) is 72, so
element i is written at byte 72 + 8 * i and element 144 already lands
past the allocation.  At map_size 255 the last store ends at byte 2112,
888 bytes past the object and 64 bytes into the adjacent slab object.
The stored words come from the device and meter_level_map[] selects
which word lands in which slot, so extent and contents are both
controlled.

The core does not catch this.  snd_ctl_check_elem_info() is reached only
from __snd_ctl_elem_info(), which snd_ctl_elem_read() calls under
CONFIG_SND_CTL_DEBUG; without that option snd_ctl_skip_validation() is a
compile-time true.  __snd_ctl_add_replace() validates kcontrol->count and
never inspects elem->channels.

Installing an oversized map needs CAP_SYS_RAWIO, but the control outlives
the hwdep descriptor that created it, so the out-of-bounds stores are
issued by any process able to read controls on /dev/snd/controlC0.

KASAN on 7.2.0-rc5 (arm64), triggered by an unprivileged control read:

  BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in fcp_meter_ctl_get
  Write of size 8 at addr ffff000017af04c8 by task fcp_trigger/185
   __asan_store8
   fcp_meter_ctl_get
   snd_ctl_elem_read
   snd_ctl_ioctl
  Allocated by task 185:
   memdup_user
   snd_ctl_ioctl
  The buggy address is located 0 bytes to the right of
   allocated 1224-byte region [ffff000017af0000, ffff000017af04c8)

Bound the map size by the ABI limit rather than by 255, and bound the
store loop at the sink so it cannot run past the value array whatever
elem->channels holds.

Discovered by XBOW, triaged by Baul Lee <baul.lee@xbow.com>

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74640?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74640?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-74640 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74640 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74640 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74640 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 22 Aug 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-2026-74640 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-74640/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74640/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74640
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74640
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74640

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74640/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.