CVE-2026-90781 alsa-lib through 1.2.16.1 Off-by-One Stack Buffer Overflow in __snd_ctl_ascii_elem_id_parse()
Attackers can crash applications using alsa-lib by providing long control-element identifiers, causing a stack buffer overflow.
- 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-2026-90781?
CVE-2026-90781 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in alsa-lib, published on 13 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
alsa-lib through 1.2.16.1 contains a stack buffer overflow in the __snd_ctl_ascii_elem_id_parse() function that writes one byte past a 64-byte buffer when parsing a name= field with 64 or more characters. Attackers can supply a long control-element identifier string through saved state files or command-line arguments to overwrite adjacent stack memory and crash the calling process.
Weakness: CWE-193
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-90781?
Linux distribution packages (5)
alsa-lib Red Hat:hummingbird:1 | All versions | 0:1.2.16.1-2.1.hum1 |
alsa-lib-devel Red Hat:hummingbird:1 | All versions | 0:1.2.16.1-2.1.hum1 |
alsa-topology Red Hat:hummingbird:1 | All versions | 0:1.2.16.1-2.1.hum1 |
alsa-ucm Red Hat:hummingbird:1 | All versions | 0:1.2.16.1-2.1.hum1 |
alsa openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 1.2.16.1-2.1 |
How do I fix CVE-2026-90781?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2026-90781 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-90781 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Public exploit code: 1 proofs of concept on GitHub.
Sources
Also known as AZL-104928, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-90781, ECHO-5500-f7c8-e635, GHSA-f8w2-9vv9-pxwq, OESA-2026-4119, RHSA-2026:67289 and 2 more.