# CVE-2026-97418: ALSA: es18xx: check control allocation before private data setup

> A null pointer dereference in the ALSA es18xx driver can cause a kernel crash, leading to denial of service for local attackers.

- **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:** 24 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 3 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-103646, BELL-CVE-2026-97418, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97418, GHSA-8wg7-gxr2-289w, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97418

## What is CVE-2026-97418?

CVE-2026-97418 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 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:

ALSA: es18xx: check control allocation before private data setup

snd_es18xx_mixer() creates controls with snd_ctl_new1() and then stores
bookkeeping pointers or sets private_free before calling snd_ctl_add().
snd_ctl_new1() can return NULL on allocation failure, so those writes
can dereference a NULL control pointer.

Check the returned control pointers before using them and return -ENOMEM
on allocation failure.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97418?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-97418?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-97418 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97418 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-97418 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-97418 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 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-2026-97418 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-2026-97418/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97418/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97418
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97418
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97418

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97418/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.