CVE-2026-31504: Linux Kernel

High severity, CVSS 7.8. EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: fix fanout UAF in packet_release() via NETDEV_UP race `packet_release()` has a race window where `NETDEV_UP` can re-register a socket into a fanout group's `arr[]` array. The re-registration is not cleaned up by `fanout_release()`, leaving a dangling pointer in the fanout array. `packet_release()` does NOT zero `po->num` in its `bind_lock` section. After releasing `bind_lock`, `po->num` is still non-zero and `po->ifindex` still matches the bound device. A concurrent `packet_notifier(NETDEV_UP)` that already found the socket in `sklist` can re-register the hook. For fanout sockets, this re-registration calls `__fanout_link(sk, po)` which adds the socket back into `f->arr[]` and increments `f->num_members`, but does NOT increment `f->sk_ref`. The fix sets `po->num` to zero in `packet_release` while `bind_lock` is held to prevent NETDEV_UP from linking, preventing the race window. This bug was found following an additional audit with Claude Code based on CVE-2025-38617.

Affected products

• Linux Linux Kernel: from 3.1.1, before 5.10.253 (fixed in 5.10.253); from 5.11, before 5.15.203 (fixed in 5.15.203); from 5.16, before 6.1.168 (fixed in 6.1.168); from 6.2, before 6.6.131 (fixed in 6.6.131); from 6.7, before 6.12.80 (fixed in 6.12.80); from 6.13, before 6.18.21 (fixed in 6.18.21); …

Published 2026-04-22. Last modified 2026-07-14.