Vulnerability in Kernel (CVE-2026-31526)
Summary
Vulnerability in Kernel (CVE-2026-31526). Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure. Mitigation: upgrade to 6.18.21, 6.19.11 or later.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
bpf: Fix exception exit lock checking for subprogs
process_bpf_exit_full() passes check_lock = !curframe to
check_resource_leak(), which is false in cases when bpf_throw() is
called from a static subprog. This makes check_resource_leak() to skip
validation of active_rcu_locks, active_preempt_locks, and
active_irq_id on exception exits from subprogs.
At runtime bpf_throw() unwinds the stack via ORC without releasing any
user-acquired locks, which may cause various issues as the result.
Fix by setting check_lock = true for exception exits regardless of
curframe, since exceptions bypass all intermediate frame
cleanup. Update the error message prefix to "bpf_throw" for exception
exits to distinguish them from normal BPF_EXIT.
Fix reject_subprog_with_rcu_read_lock test which was previously
passing for the wrong reason. Test program returned directly from the
subprog call without closing the RCU section, so the error was
triggered by the unclosed RCU lock on normal exit, not by
bpf_throw. Update __msg annotations for affected tests to match the
new "bpf_throw" error prefix.
The spin_lock case is not affected because they are already checked [1]
at the call site in do_check_insn() before bpf_throw can run.
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-2026-31526 has been found in Kernel.
Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
What to do: upgrade Kernel to 6.18.21, 6.19.11 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Kernel CVE-2026-31526" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-31526 (Kernel)
Patched: 6.18.21, 6.19.11 — apply immediately
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 (unclassified) exists in Kernel.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Kernel.
Severity: ?. Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
Update to 6.18.21, 6.19.11.
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. Run grep -r 'Kernel' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
grep -r 'Kernel' . | grep -v node_modulesリポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で
Kernelを grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。 -
2Apply patch patch
Upgrade Kernel to 6.18.21, 6.19.11ステージング環境で 6.18.21, 6.19.11 に上げて回帰テスト → 本番反映。回帰テストはアプリの主要ハッピーパスを含めること。
-
3Post-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-2026-31526 linux-lts
- Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31526 linux
- Ubuntu UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31526 linux-hwe-edge
References
- advisory github.com
- advisory nvd.nist.gov
- package git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org