# CVE-2026-89944: ASoC: hdac_hda: Fix hlink refcount leak on component registration failure

> A refcount leak in the Linux kernel HDA audio driver can cause resource exhaustion and denial of service if component registration fails.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 16 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-101238, BELL-CVE-2026-89944, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-89944, GHSA-4wgj-g6wx-2p76, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-89944

## What is CVE-2026-89944?

CVE-2026-89944 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 16 Sep 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:

ASoC: hdac_hda: Fix hlink refcount leak on component registration failure

hdac_hda_dev_probe() gets the HDA link with snd_hdac_ext_bus_link_get()
before registering the ASoC component. If component registration fails,
the function returns without dropping the link reference.

Always call snd_hdac_ext_bus_link_put() after the registration attempt so
the reference taken during probe is balanced on both success and failure.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-89944?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-89944?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-89944 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-89944 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-89944 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-89944 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 16 Sep 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-2026-89944 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-2026-89944/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-89944/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-89944
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89944
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-89944

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-89944/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.