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ExploitedIn CISA KEVFix available

CVE-2023-0266

Exploitation confirmed. First attested on 2023-03-30 by CISA-ADP, CISA KEV, GCVE · kevintel.

  • Published2023-01-30
  • Fixed in6.1.6 · 5.15.88 · 5.10.163 · 5.4.229 · 4.19.270 · 4.14.303
  • WeaknessCWE-416

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

A use after free vulnerability exists in the ALSA PCM package in the Linux Kernel. SNDRV_CTL_IOCTL_ELEM_{READ|WRITE}32 is missing locks that can be used in a use-after-free that can result in a priviledge escalation to gain ring0 access from the system user. We recommend upgrading past commit 56b88b50565cd8b946a2d00b0c83927b7ebb055e

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2023-01-3014:15CVE publishedNVD
  2. 2023-03-30Added to the CISA KEV catalogCISA KEV
  3. 2023-03-30Listed as exploited by GCVEGCVE
  4. 2023-03-30Exploitation first reportedCISA KEV
  5. 2025-01-2915:07SSVC exploitation set to activeCISA-ADP

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-11-04 09:37 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2023-0266?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2023-0266?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD
Linux linux kernel
BranchAffectedFixed in
6.1≥ 5.16, < 6.1.66.1.6
5.x≥ 5.11, < 5.15.885.15.88
5.x≥ 5.5, < 5.10.1635.10.163
5.4≥ 4.20, < 5.4.2295.4.229
4.x≥ 4.15, < 4.19.2704.19.270
4.14≥ 4.14, < 4.14.3034.14.303
Debian debian linux
BranchAffectedFixed in
10.0= 10.0no fix published

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Products declared by the CNA1 product

As Google, the CNA that assigned this CVE, declared them in the CVE record; versions as written.

  • Linux Kernelother versions: not affected

    package ALSA pcmhttps://git.kernel.org

    Affected
    • ≥ 4.14, < 56b88b50565cd8b946a2d00b0c83927b7ebb055efixed in 56b88b50565cd8b946a2d00b0c83927b7ebb055egit

Source: the CNA record (CVE Program), © The MITRE Corporation,CVE Terms of UseCVE recordupdated 2023-05-03

Distribution builds and vendor advisories

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Packages

  • :linux_kernel:Androidfrom :0 · fixed in :2023-04-05
  • dtb-aarch64openSUSE:Leap 15.4all versions · fixed in 5.14.21-150400.24.46.1and 9 other packages
  • dtb-aarch64openSUSE:Leap 15.4all versions · fixed in 5.3.18-150300.59.109.1
  • kernelTuxCare:RHEL:7all versions · fixed in 3.10.0-1160.164.1.el7.tuxcare.els1and 11 other packages
  • kernelTuxCare:OracleLinux:7all versions · fixed in 3.10.0-1160.164.1.el7.tuxcare.els1and 11 other packages
  • kernelTuxCare:CentOS:8.5all versions · fixed in 4.18.0-348.7.1.el8_5.tuxcare.els9and 21 other packages
  • kernelTuxCare:CentOS:8.4all versions · fixed in 4.18.0-305.25.1.el8_4.tuxcare.els9and 21 other packages
  • kernelTuxCare:CentOS:7all versions · fixed in 3.10.0-1160.164.1.el7.tuxcare.els1and 11 other packages

193 more package ranges on OSV.dev

Vendor advisories

  • CVE-2023-0266 Red Hat Product Security1,221 products fixed

    ALSA: pcm: Move rwsem lock inside snd_ctl_elem_read to prevent UAF

  • RHSA-2023:1677 Red Hat Product Security2 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Virtualization Host 4.4.z SP 1 security update batch#5 (oVirt-4.5.3-5)

  • RHSA-2023:1666 Red Hat Product Security35 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: kpatch-patch security update

  • RHSA-2023:1659 Red Hat Product Security21 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: kpatch-patch security update

  • RHSA-2023:1662 Red Hat Product Security35 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: kpatch-patch security update

  • RHSA-2023:1660 Red Hat Product Security42 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: kpatch-patch security update

15 more advisories

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. Update Linux linux kernel to 6.1.6 · 5.15.88 · 5.10.163 · 5.4.229 · 4.19.270 · 4.14.303
  2. CISA’s required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.due 2023-04-20
  3. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2023:1677 · 2 productsFor details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/2974891
  4. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2023:1666 · 35 productsFor details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258
  5. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2023:1566 · 120 productsFor details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258 The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.
  6. Workaround from the vendor Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2023:1677 · 6 productsTo mitigate this issue, skip loading (blacklist) the affected soundcard using modules like: blacklist soundcore blacklist snd blacklist snd_pcm blacklist snd_hda_codec_hdmi blacklist snd_hda_codec_realtek blacklist snd_hda_codec_generic blacklist snd_hda_intel blacklist snd_hda_codec blacklist sn…

Advisories and patches

Detection

read 2026-11-03 22:42 UTC
Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
1 repository, unverifiedSeanHeelan/claude_opus_cve_2023_0266
PoC-in-GitHub
Metasploit modules
none listed
Metasploit Framework

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Date Added
2023-03-30
Patch Due Date
2023-04-20
Ransomware Use
Unknown
Required Action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Sources

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2023-01-30
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Analyzed
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-h8jm-3c82-6vvq

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-0266?

A use after free vulnerability exists in the ALSA PCM package in the Linux Kernel. SNDRV_CTL_IOCTL_ELEM_{READ|WRITE}32 is missing locks that can be used in a use-after-free that can result in a priviledge escalation to gain ring0 access from the system user. We recommend upgrading past commit 56b88b50565cd8b946a2d00b0c83927b7ebb055e

Is CVE-2023-0266 actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2023-0266 is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, meaning it has been confirmed as actively exploited in the wild. CISA requires federal agencies to patch by 2023-04-20.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-0266?

CVE-2023-0266 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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