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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-31701

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.18.25 / 7.0.2 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: caiaq: take a reference on the USB device in create_card() The caiaq driver stores a pointer to the parent USB device in cdev->chip.dev but never takes a reference on it. The card's private_free callback, snd_usb_caiaq_card_free(), can run asynchronously via snd_card_free_when_closed() after the USB device has already been disconnected and freed, so any access to cdev->chip.dev in that path dereferences a freed usb_device. On top of the refcounting issue, the current card_free implementation calls usb_reset_device(cdev->chip.dev). A reset in a free callback is inappropriate: the device is going away, the call takes the device lock in a teardown context, and the reset races with the disconnect path that the callback is already cleaning up after. Take a reference on the USB device in create_card() with usb_get_dev(), drop it with usb_put_dev() in the free callback, and remove the usb_reset_device() call.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 6.13, < 6.18.25>= 6.19, < 7.0.2= 6.13= 7.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.18.25 / 7.0.2 or later
Fixed in 6.18.257.0.2
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 6.18.25 or later, or 7.0.2 or later (or distribution-provided kernel with backported fix)

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
  2. Check if your distribution has released a kernel update that includes the fix (the commit 1d9be95aee6c6246a21752e60c9519902649f482)
  3. For upstream kernels, upgrade to version 6.18.25 or later, or 7.0.2 or later
  4. For enterprise distributions (RHEL, CentOS, SLES, Ubuntu LTS), wait for and apply the distribution-specific security update that backports this fix
  5. After kernel update, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  6. Verify the fix is applied by checking the caiaq driver code in /sound/usb/caiaq/ or by confirming the kernel version after reboot
Caveat Standard kernel upgrade risks apply: driver compatibility, custom module rebuilds may be needed, ensure backups and test in staging first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-31701 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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