---
id: "CVE-2026-98744"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-98744"]
title: "Linux kernel: uninitialized SoundWire stream config in MAX98363 audio codec driver"
severity: "unknown"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "infrastructure"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["embedded", "infrastructure", "laptops", "linux-kernel", "soundwire"]
not_affected_if: ["driver-not-loaded", "no-max98363-hardware"]
published_at: "2026-10-18T16:17:28+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T05:17:02+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98744", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel: uninitialized SoundWire stream config in MAX98363 audio codec driver

In the Linux kernel's MAX98363 audio codec driver, a stream configuration structure was passed to the SoundWire layer without being zero-initialized, so its type field could hold garbage values. The fix zero-initializes the structure so the stream type defaults to PCM; the sources do not describe any attacker-controlled outcome.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

- Check whether the kernel source or build includes the MAX98363 codec driver (`sound/soc/codecs/max98363.c`), for example with `grep -i max98363 /boot/config-$(uname -r)`
- Compare the running kernel with the fixed version listed in the upstream NVD/kernel.org commit: `uname -r`

## Fix

- Update the Linux kernel to a release that includes the upstream commit zeroing `stream_config` in max98363 (version unknown from the sources)
- Vendor kernels: apply the stable backport for your branch once your distribution publishes it

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98744

## From the sources

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ASoC: codecs: max98363: fix uninitialized stream_config->type

stream_config is not initialized before being passed to
sdw_stream_add_slave().  The type field may contain garbage and is
later copied to stream->type by sdw_config_stream().

Zero-initialize stream_config so type defaults to SDW_STREAM_PCM.

---

_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_