Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2026-31397)
Summary
Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2026-31397). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm/huge_memory: fix use of NULL folio in move_pages_huge_pmd()
move_pages_huge_pmd() handles UFFDIO_MOVE for both normal THPs and huge
zero pages. For the huge zero page path, src_folio is explicitly set to
NULL, and is used as a sentinel to skip folio operations like lock and
rmap.
In the huge zero page branch, src_folio is NULL, so folio_mk_pmd(NULL,
pgprot) passes NULL through folio_pfn() and page_to_pfn(). With
SPARSEMEM_VMEMMAP this silently produces a bogus PFN, installing a PMD
pointing to non-existent physical memory. On other memory models it is a
NULL dereference.
Use page_folio(src_page) to obtain the valid huge zero folio from the
page, which was obtained from pmd_page() and remains valid throughout.
After commit d82d09e48219 ("mm/huge_memory: mark PMD mappings of the huge
zero folio special"), moved huge zero PMDs must remain special so
vm_normal_page_pmd() continues to treat them as special mappings.
move_pages_huge_pmd() currently reconstructs the destination PMD in the
huge zero page branch, which drops PMD state such as pmd_special() on
architectures with CONFIG_ARCH_HAS_PTE_SPECIAL. As a result,
vm_normal_page_pmd() can treat the moved huge zero PMD as a normal page
and corrupt its refcount.
Instead of reconstructing the PMD from the folio, derive the destination
entry from src_pmdval after pmdp_huge_clear_flush(), then handle the PMD
metadata the same way move_huge_pmd() does for…
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD GitHub Advisory
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-31397 has been found in Linux kernel.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. CVSS score: 7.8/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Linux kernel CVE-2026-31397" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-31397 (Linux kernel) — CWE-476 / CVSS v3 7.8
Attack vector: local / no user interaction
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
A vulnerability (CWE-476) exists in Linux kernel.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Linux kernel.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.8/10). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Audit SBOM/dependencies to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
Audit SBOM/dependencies for affected components.資産台帳・SBOM・依存マニフェストで Linux kernel を使っているサービスとバージョンを洗い出す。
-
2Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Affected packages
Fix status by distribution
Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE
- BellSoft Alpaquita BELL-CVE-2026-31397 linux-lts Fixed in: 6.18.35-r1
- Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31397 linux Fixed in: 6.19.10-1
- Ubuntu UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31397 linux-hwe-edge
References
- advisory nvd.nist.gov
- advisory github.com
- package git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web github.com