CVE-2026-74504
ALSA: seq: Fix division by zero in initialize_timer()
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: seq: Fix division by zero in initialize_timer() A userspace-driven ALSA timer (SND_UTIMER) lets an unprivileged user set the backing snd_timer's hardware resolution to an arbitrary 64-bit value via SNDRV_TIMER_IOCTL_CREATE. snd_utimer_create() only rejects zero. When such a timer is bound to a sequencer queue, initialize_timer() computes the tick period as tmr->ticks = 1000000000 / (r * freq); where r is that user-controlled resolution and freq is the sequencer update rate in Hz, clamped to MIN_FREQUENCY..MAX_FREQUENCY (10..6250). A resolution of 2^63 makes the 64-bit product r * freq wrap to zero for any even freq, including DEFAULT_FREQUENCY (1000), so the division faults with a divide-by-zero. The division runs under tmr->lock with interrupts disabled, so the oops leaves the spinlock held and hangs the CPU. It is reachable by an unprivileged user with access to /dev/snd/timer and /dev/snd/seq. Oops: divide error: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN PTI CPU: 7 UID: 1000 PID: 456 Comm: alsa_seq_utimer Not tainted 7.2.0-rc4+ RIP: 0010:initialize_timer.constprop.0+0x20a/0x2d0 snd_seq_timer_start+0x15e/0x2b0 snd_seq_control_queue+0x56f/0xba0 snd_seq_write+0x3e0/0x730 Reject an overflowing product with check_mul_overflow() and fall back to a single tick, which also avoids feeding a wrapped-but-nonzero divisor (e.g. 2^63 * 1000 mod 2^64 == 0, or other resolutions wrapping to a small value) into the period computation.
INFO
Published Date :
Aug. 15, 2026, 1:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
Aug. 15, 2026, 1:17 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-74504
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
Solution
- Apply the ALSA seq kernel patch.
- Update the Linux kernel.
- Reboot the system after updates.
- Verify the fix is active.
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-2026-74504.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-74504 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-2026-74504
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-2026-74504 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-74504 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.
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New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Aug. 15, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '37745918e0e7575bc40f38da93a99b9fa6406224', 'lessThan': 'd0e19932875746118e298b4c974f3b2d4aeb16fc', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '37745918e0e7575bc40f38da93a99b9fa6406224', 'lessThan': '5260e195c53e898a4a76527d4bb2178f31795e78', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '37745918e0e7575bc40f38da93a99b9fa6406224', 'lessThan': '42c6543ff27ea280334244458d4f52ec7133cc05', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '37745918e0e7575bc40f38da93a99b9fa6406224', 'lessThan': '21e19688433452dfbbbe6b2bb670dea6eb92f0f6', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['sound/core/seq/seq_timer.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '6.12'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '6.12', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.12.103', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.12.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.18.44', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.18.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1.8', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.2-rc6', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['sound/core/seq/seq_timer.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: seq: Fix division by zero in initialize_timer() A userspace-driven ALSA timer (SND_UTIMER) lets an unprivileged user set the backing snd_timer's hardware resolution to an arbitrary 64-bit value via SNDRV_TIMER_IOCTL_CREATE. snd_utimer_create() only rejects zero. When such a timer is bound to a sequencer queue, initialize_timer() computes the tick period as tmr->ticks = 1000000000 / (r * freq); where r is that user-controlled resolution and freq is the sequencer update rate in Hz, clamped to MIN_FREQUENCY..MAX_FREQUENCY (10..6250). A resolution of 2^63 makes the 64-bit product r * freq wrap to zero for any even freq, including DEFAULT_FREQUENCY (1000), so the division faults with a divide-by-zero. The division runs under tmr->lock with interrupts disabled, so the oops leaves the spinlock held and hangs the CPU. It is reachable by an unprivileged user with access to /dev/snd/timer and /dev/snd/seq. Oops: divide error: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN PTI CPU: 7 UID: 1000 PID: 456 Comm: alsa_seq_utimer Not tainted 7.2.0-rc4+ RIP: 0010:initialize_timer.constprop.0+0x20a/0x2d0 snd_seq_timer_start+0x15e/0x2b0 snd_seq_control_queue+0x56f/0xba0 snd_seq_write+0x3e0/0x730 Reject an overflowing product with check_mul_overflow() and fall back to a single tick, which also avoids feeding a wrapped-but-nonzero divisor (e.g. 2^63 * 1000 mod 2^64 == 0, or other resolutions wrapping to a small value) into the period computation. Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/21e19688433452dfbbbe6b2bb670dea6eb92f0f6 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/42c6543ff27ea280334244458d4f52ec7133cc05 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5260e195c53e898a4a76527d4bb2178f31795e78 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d0e19932875746118e298b4c974f3b2d4aeb16fc