virtio_net: Fix UAF on dst_ops when IFF_XMIT_DST_RELEASE is cleared and napi_tx is false
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-416 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio_net: Fix UAF on dst_ops when IFF_XMIT_DST_RELEASE is cleared and napi_tx is false A UAF issue occurs when the virtio_net driver is configured with napi_tx=N and the device's IFF_XMIT_DST_RELEASE flag is cleared (e.g., during the configuration of tc route filter rules). When IFF_XMIT_DST_RELEASE is removed from the net_device, the network stack expects the driver to hold the reference to skb->dst until the packet is fully transmitted and freed. In virtio_net with napi_tx=N, skbs may remain in the virtio transmit ring for an extended period. If the network namespace is destroyed while these skbs are still pending, the corresponding dst_ops structure has freed. When a subsequent packet is transmitted, free_old_xmit() is triggered to clean up old skbs. It then calls dst_release() on the skb associated with the stale dst_entry. Since the dst_ops (referenced by the dst_entry) has already been freed, a UAF kernel paging request occurs. fix it by adds skb_dst_drop(skb) in start_xmit to explicitly release the dst reference before the skb is queued in virtio_net. Call Trace: Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address ffff80007e150000 CPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 6236 Comm: ping Kdump: loaded Not tainted 7.0.0-rc1+ #6 PREEMPT ... percpu_counter_add_batch+0x3c/0x158 lib/percpu_counter.c:98 (P) dst_release+0xe0/0x110 net/core/dst.c:177 skb_release_head_state+0xe8/0x108 net/core/skbuff.c:1177 sk_skb_reason_drop+0x54/0x2d8 net/core/skbuff.c:1255 dev_kfree_skb_any_reason+0x64/0x78 net/core/dev.c:3469 napi_consume_skb+0x1c4/0x3a0 net/core/skbuff.c:1527 __free_old_xmit+0x164/0x230 drivers/net/virtio_net.c:611 [virtio_net] free_old_xmit drivers/net/virtio_net.c:1081 [virtio_net] start_xmit+0x7c/0x530 drivers/net/virtio_net.c:3329 [virtio_net] ... Reproduction Steps: NETDEV="enp3s0" config_qdisc_route_filter() { tc qdisc del dev $NETDEV root tc qdisc add dev $NETDEV root handle 1: prio tc filter add dev $NETDEV parent 1:0 \ protocol ip prio 100 route to 100 flowid 1:1 ip route add 192.168.1.100/32 dev $NETDEV realm 100 } test_ns() { ip netns add testns ip link set $NETDEV netns testns ip netns exec testns ifconfig $NETDEV 10.0.32.46/24 ip netns exec testns ping -c 1 10.0.32.1 ip netns del testns } config_qdisc_route_filter test_ns sleep 2 test_ns
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 2.6.26 and later | 5.10.253, 5.15.203, 6.1.168, 6.6.131, 6.12.80, 6.18.21, 6.19.11, 7.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 2.6.26 and later Fixed in 5.10.253, 5.15.203, 6.1.168, 6.6.131, 6.12.80, 6.18.21, 6.19.11, 7.0 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 6
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.6.26 to before 5.10.253; 5.11 to before 5.15.203; 5.16 to before 6.1.168; 6.2 to before 6.6.131; 6.7 to before 6.12.80; 6.13 to before 6.18.21; 6.19 to before 6.19.11 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.26 to before 5.10.253; 5.11 to before 5.15.203; 5.16 to before 6.1.168; 6.2 to before 6.6.131; 6.7 to before 6.12.80; 6.13 to before 6.18.21; 6.19 to before 6.19.11 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.253, 5.15.203, 6.1.168, 6.6.131, 6.12.80, 6.18.21, 6.19.11, 7.0
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-31469
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-vggv-f293-vmjw
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-19 Weakness changed · CISA ADP
References
Patch 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/be0e63f3b97bbaf453c542e8a15ba2a536e2ac01
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c1ec36cb3768574b916f20d2d7415fd14fa1bf12
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8a4790850e710fd6771e4d2112168ed1dd6c0e54
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fedd2e1630cac920844997227ccbe7b26a76375a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f04733c4dc40c43899c3d1c97afbae5831a3770f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9a18629f2525781f0f3dda7be72b204e4cf77d08
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/63d45077b97bb0e0fe0c75931acbbca7a47af141
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba8bda9a0896746053aa97ac6c3e08168729172c
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- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2026-31469 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-31469 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-vggv-f293-vmjw · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-31469 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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