PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2026-46179 Linux CVE debrief

A divide-by-zero vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's ALSA System-on-Chip (ASoC) Sound Open Firmware (SOF) subsystem. When reporting the pointer position for a compressed audio stream, the driver divides the current I/O frame position by the product of channel count and container byte size. These configuration values default to zero and are only populated when stream parameters are explicitly set. If pointer operations are requested on an unconfigured stream, the division by zero triggers a kernel fault. The fix validates that both channel count and container byte size are non-zero before performing the division, returning an error if the stream is not properly configured.

Vendor: Linux
Product: Unknown
CVSS: MEDIUM 5.5
CISA KEV: Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published: 2026-05-28
Original CVE updated: 2026-06-11
Advisory published: 2026-05-28
Advisory updated: 2026-06-11

Who should care

Linux system administrators running audio workloads on SOF-enabled hardware; embedded Linux developers using Intel or other SOF-supported audio DSPs; security teams monitoring kernel stability issues

Technical summary

The vulnerability is located in the ASoC (ALSA System-on-Chip) SOF (Sound Open Firmware) subsystem's compressed stream handling. The `snd_sof_compr_pointer` function or equivalent calculates the current frame position by dividing the hardware position by (channels × container_bytes). When a compressed stream is opened but not yet configured with parameters, these values remain at their default of zero. The fix adds validation to ensure both values are non-zero before performing the division, preventing the divide-by-zero fault. This is a local vulnerability requiring the ability to open compressed audio streams, typically through the ALSA compressed audio API.

Defensive priority

medium

Recommended defensive actions

Apply the relevant stable kernel patch for your distribution's kernel version
Verify that compressed audio stream configurations properly set channel count and container byte size before pointer operations
Monitor kernel logs for errors related to SOF compressed stream pointer reporting
Update to a kernel version containing the fix: 6.12.31+, 6.14.8+, 6.15+, or later stable releases

Evidence notes

The vulnerability description is sourced from the official CVE record published by NVD on 2026-05-28. The issue was resolved in the Linux kernel stable tree with commits addressing the ASoC SOF compressed stream pointer handling. Multiple stable kernel branches received backports of the fix.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

CVE-2026-46179 CVE Program record
Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-46179

CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.
CVE-2026-46179 NVD vulnerability detail
Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46179

NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Supplemental references

Source reference
Unverified legacy reference

URL: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0f0c0c1397a42aacaacae828206ee1b921623952

416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Source reference
Unverified legacy reference

URL: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/327a64241f30c74b6f35537eb9e1fc6c3cbe060b

416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Source reference
Unverified legacy reference

URL: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4f42dd01f5217465f23a763e27b3984e114d0972

416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Source reference
Unverified legacy reference

URL: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/98ed1383f597f8a45b6cb816bb20b96d46eeceda

416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Source reference
Unverified legacy reference

URL: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c5b6285aae050ff1c3ea824ca3d88ac4be1e69c8

416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.