CVE-2024-53197

A vulnerability was found in the Linux kernel's USB Audio driver. This flaw allows an attacker with physical access to the system to use a malicious USB device to gain additional access. This is possible by manipulating system memory, potentially escalating privileges, or executing arbitrary code.

This CVE marked as important vulnerability because it allows a malicious or compromised USB device to trigger out-of-bounds memory accesses in the Linux kernel’s ALSA USB audio subsystem. This occurs due to improper handling of bNumConfigurations, which can lead to memory corruption or even privilege escalation if exploited. Since USB devices can be dynamically plugged in, an attacker with physical access could potentially exploit this flaw to execute arbitrary code in kernel space or cause a system crash. Because the kernel supports virtual USB devices, this vulnerability could still be exploited by an attacker without physical access, but is able to create virtual USB devices which use the vulnerable device drivers.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

To mitigate this issue, prevent module snd-usb-audio from being loaded.

As the snd_usb_audio module will be auto-loaded when a usb device is hot plugged, the module can be prevented by loading with the following instructions:

echo "install snd_usb_audio /bin/true" >> /etc/modprobe.d/disable-snd-usb-audio.conf

The system will need to be restarted if the modules are loaded. In most circumstances, the sound kernel modules will be unable to be unloaded while any programs are active and the device are in use.

If the system requires this module to work correctly, this mitigation may not be suitable.

If you need further assistance, see KCS article https://access.redhat.com/solutions/41278 or contact Red Hat Global Support Services.