CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-31505NVD status: Modified

Linux: Out-of-bounds Write

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-31505 is a high-severity out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 20a31b84b3e3af21bbb2628fdad185b1f274a5f5, d5dcca707f56c46582486d783c1eca2323189111, 1f931dee5b726df1940348ec31614d64bac03aa6 as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.16% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to 20a31b84b3e3af21bbb2628fdad185b1f274a5f5 or d5dcca707f56c46582486d783c1eca2323189111 or 1f931dee5b726df1940348ec31614d64bac03aa6 or bb85741d2dc2be207353a412f51b83697fcbefcf, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 6.12.80 or 6.18.21 or 6.19.11, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux64430f70ba6fcd5872ac190f4ae3ddee3f48f00d up to, but not including, 20a31b84b3e3af21bbb2628fdad185b1f274a5f5; 64430f70ba6fcd5872ac190f4ae3ddee3f48f00d up to, but not including, d5dcca707f56c46582486d783c1eca2323189111; 64430f70ba6fcd5872ac190f4ae3ddee3f48f00d up to, but not including, 1f931dee5b726df1940348ec31614d64bac03aa6; 64430f70ba6fcd5872ac190f4ae3ddee3f48f00d up to, but not including, bb85741d2dc2be207353a412f51b83697fcbefcf; 64430f70ba6fcd5872ac190f4ae3ddee3f48f00d up to, but not including, fdf902bf86a80bf15792a1d20a67a5302498d7f1; 64430f70ba6fcd5872ac190f4ae3ddee3f48f00d up to, but not including, fecacfc95f195b99c71c579a472120d0b4ed65fa; 5.1720a31b84b3e3af21bbb2628fdad185b1f274a5f5, d5dcca707f56c46582486d783c1eca2323189111, 1f931dee5b726df1940348ec31614d64bac03aa6, bb85741d2dc2be207353a412f51b83697fcbefcf, fdf902bf86a80bf15792a1d20a67a5302498d7f1, fecacfc95f195b99c71c579a472120d0b4ed65fa
LinuxLinux Kernel5.17.1 up to, but not including, 6.12.80; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.18.21; 6.19 up to, but not including, 6.19.11; 5.17; 7.06.12.80, 6.18.21, 6.19.11

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iavf: fix out-of-bounds writes in iavf_get_ethtool_stats() iavf incorrectly uses real_num_tx_queues for ETH_SS_STATS. Since the value could change in runtime, we should use num_tx_queues instead. Moreover iavf_get_ethtool_stats() uses num_active_queues while iavf_get_sset_count() and iavf_get_stat_strings() use real_num_tx_queues, which triggers out-of-bounds writes when we do "ethtool -L" and "ethtool -S" simultaneously [1]. For example when we change channels from 1 to 8, Thread 3 could be scheduled before Thread 2, and out-of-bounds writes could be triggered in Thread 3: Thread 1 (ethtool -L) Thread 2 (work) Thread 3 (ethtool -S) iavf_set_channels() ... iavf_alloc_queues() -> num_active_queues = 8 iavf_schedule_finish_config() iavf_get_sset_count() real_num_tx_queues: 1 -> buffer for 1 queue iavf_get_ethtool_stats() num_active_queues: 8 -> out-of-bounds! iavf_finish_config() -> real_num_tx_queues = 8 Use immutable num_tx_queues in all related functions to avoid the issue. [1] BUG: KASAN: vmalloc-out-of-bounds in iavf_add_one_ethtool_stat+0x200/0x270 Write of size 8 at addr ffffc900031c9080 by task ethtool/5800 CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 5800 Comm: ethtool Not tainted 6.19.0-enjuk-08403-g8137e3db7f1c #241 PREEMPT(full) Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x6f/0xb0 print_report+0x170/0x4f3 kasan_report+0xe1/0x180 iavf_add_one_ethtool_stat+0x200/0x270 iavf_get_ethtool_stats+0x14c/0x2e0 __dev_ethtool+0x3d0c/0x5830 dev_ethtool+0x12d/0x270 dev_ioctl+0x53c/0xe30 sock_do_ioctl+0x1a9/0x270 sock_ioctl+0x3d4/0x5e0 __x64_sys_ioctl+0x137/0x1c0 do_syscall_64+0xf3/0x690 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f RIP: 0033:0x7f7da0e6e36d ... </TASK> The buggy address belongs to a 1-page vmalloc region starting at 0xffffc900031c9000 allocated at __dev_ethtool+0x3cc9/0x5830 The buggy address belongs to the physical page: page: refcount:1 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0xffff88813a013de0 pfn:0x13a013 flags: 0x200000000000000(node=0|zone=2) raw: 0200000000000000 0000000000000000 dead000000000122 0000000000000000 raw: ffff88813a013de0 0000000000000000 00000001ffffffff 0000000000000000 page dumped because: kasan: bad access detected Memory state around the buggy address: ffffc900031c8f80: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 ffffc900031c9000: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 >ffffc900031c9080: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 ^ ffffc900031c9100: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 ffffc900031c9180: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Out-of-bounds Write

The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, many languages that perform their own memory management, such as Java and Perl, are not subject to buffer overflows. Other languages, such as Ada and C#, typically provide overflow protection, but the protection can be disabled by the programmer. Be wary that a language's interface to native code may still be subject to overflows, even if the language itself is theoretically safe.
  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. Examples include the Safe C String Library (SafeStr) by Messier and Viega, and the Strsafe.h library from Microsoft. These libraries provide safer versions of overflow-prone string-handling functions.
  • Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index checking. D3-SFCV (Stack Frame Canary Validation) from D3FEND discusses canary-based detection in detail.

More Out-of-bounds Write vulnerabilities (CWE-787)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Out-of-bounds Write vulnerabilities

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