---
id: CVE-2026-80965
title: >-
  kernel: ALSA: serial-u16550: Check card index validity at probe
  (CVE-2026-80965)
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's ALSA serial-u16550 driver. This
  vulnerability occurs because the driver does not properly validate the card
  index when a device is manually bound via the sysfs interface. A local user
  could exploit th…
severity: medium
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-805
vendor: Red Hat
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= 9caf6b5908e1e3b10478e9201ca1be809145253f <
    41a952304cc8a308748e3f58462c879f2a9c4340
  - >-
    Linux >= 9caf6b5908e1e3b10478e9201ca1be809145253f <
    cc0f757d017f4271f137c77e130314bb23792347
  - >-
    Linux >= 9caf6b5908e1e3b10478e9201ca1be809145253f <
    1cb30691dc893aafcbc1e211e94764014c0f5d12
  - >-
    Linux >= 9caf6b5908e1e3b10478e9201ca1be809145253f <
    487ede9b648fc0eb15866f408c41aac2c57f85d5
  - >-
    Linux >= 9caf6b5908e1e3b10478e9201ca1be809145253f <
    fbf3fb097e66fc1874e54ecc46d600d9325480d6
  - >-
    Linux >= 9caf6b5908e1e3b10478e9201ca1be809145253f <
    7555e83d7738e65dc83921e3c85bbdc081f08f2f
  - >-
    Linux >= 9caf6b5908e1e3b10478e9201ca1be809145253f <
    6d6fdb24fe2eaf6174fc502284c6e1dc5f7242ba
  - >-
    Linux >= 9caf6b5908e1e3b10478e9201ca1be809145253f <
    e0fb960b227fcdebe22e4f26c9486d60943c0424
  - Linux 2.6.16
published: '2026-09-11'
updated: '2026-09-14'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-14T18:25:14+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-80965.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-80965.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-80965'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2532257'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-80965'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80965'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-80965.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/41a952304cc8a308748e3f58462c879f2a9c4340'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cc0f757d017f4271f137c77e130314bb23792347'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1cb30691dc893aafcbc1e211e94764014c0f5d12'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/487ede9b648fc0eb15866f408c41aac2c57f85d5'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fbf3fb097e66fc1874e54ecc46d600d9325480d6'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7555e83d7738e65dc83921e3c85bbdc081f08f2f'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6d6fdb24fe2eaf6174fc502284c6e1dc5f7242ba'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e0fb960b227fcdebe22e4f26c9486d60943c0424'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00176
epssPercentile: 0.07439
ingestedAt: '2026-09-14T15:23:07.455Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's ALSA serial-u16550 driver. This vulnerability occurs because the driver does not properly validate the card index when a device is manually bound via the sysfs interface. A local user could exploit this by providing an invalid card index, leading to an out-of-bounds memory access. This could result in a system crash, causing a denial of service.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · updated 2026-09-14 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-80965.json)

**kernel: ALSA: serial-u16550: Check card index validity at probe** — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-09-11, updated 2026-09-14.

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

## Remediation

Refer to the advisory for fix availability.