CVE-2026-53996
NetBSD hdaudio(4) Driver Privilege Bypass Use-After-Free via HDAUDIO_FGRP_SETCONFIG ioctl
Description
NetBSD's hdaudio(4) driver in sys/dev/hdaudio/hdaudio.c contains a missing access control vulnerability that allows unprivileged local attackers to invoke the HDAUDIO_FGRP_SETCONFIG ioctl without elevated permissions by exploiting the absence of an access check on /dev/hdaudioN device nodes. Attackers can repeatedly issue HDAUDIO_FGRP_SETCONFIG from one thread while keeping DMA and IRQs live from a second thread to trigger a use-after-free race condition in hdafg_detach() between stream_stop() and stream_disestablish(), where a latched DMA interrupt dereferences a freed callback pointer, resulting in outcomes ranging from audio-subsystem denial of service and kernel panic to potential local kernel privilege escalation.
INFO
Published Date :
Aug. 12, 2026, 1:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
Aug. 12, 2026, 1:17 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
[email protected]
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-53996
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10 | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | [email protected] | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10 | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | [email protected] |
Solution
- Implement access control checks for /dev/hdaudioN nodes.
- Review and fix race condition in hdafg_detach().
- Ensure DMA interrupts are handled safely.
- Apply NetBSD security patches promptly.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-53996.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-53996 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-53996
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-53996 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-53996 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Aug. 12, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'vendor': 'The NetBSD Foundation', 'product': 'NetBSD', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '0', 'versionType': 'custom', 'lessThanOrEqual': '11'}], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] Added Description NetBSD's hdaudio(4) driver in sys/dev/hdaudio/hdaudio.c contains a missing access control vulnerability that allows unprivileged local attackers to invoke the HDAUDIO_FGRP_SETCONFIG ioctl without elevated permissions by exploiting the absence of an access check on /dev/hdaudioN device nodes. Attackers can repeatedly issue HDAUDIO_FGRP_SETCONFIG from one thread while keeping DMA and IRQs live from a second thread to trigger a use-after-free race condition in hdafg_detach() between stream_stop() and stream_disestablish(), where a latched DMA interrupt dereferences a freed callback pointer, resulting in outcomes ranging from audio-subsystem denial of service and kernel panic to potential local kernel privilege escalation. Added CVSS V4.0 AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Added CWE CWE-862 Added Reference https://cvsweb.NetBSD.org/bsdweb.cgi/src/sys/dev/hdaudio/hdaudio.c Added Reference https://gist.github.com/n4sm/c9683ca728ecfada6c726f2a5afb50ed Added Reference https://gnats.netbsd.org/60492 Added Reference https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/netbsd-hdaudio-4-driver-privilege-bypass-use-after-free-via-hdaudio-fgrp-setconfig-ioctl