CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-31552NVD status: Analyzed

Linux: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-31552 is a high-severity loop with unreachable exit condition vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 980f793645540ca7a6318165cc12f49d5febeb99, 12f9eef39e49716c763714bfda835a733d5f6dea, ceb46b40b021d21911ff8608ce4ed33c1264ad2f 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 0.5% 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 980f793645540ca7a6318165cc12f49d5febeb99 or 12f9eef39e49716c763714bfda835a733d5f6dea or ceb46b40b021d21911ff8608ce4ed33c1264ad2f or a6dc74209462c4fe5a88718d2f3a5286886081c8, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 5.10.253 or 5.15.203 or 6.1.167 or 6.6.130, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux88295a55fefe5414e64293638b6f7549646e58ed up to, but not including, 980f793645540ca7a6318165cc12f49d5febeb99; cd89a4656c03f8db0c57350aaec69cd3cfaa3522 up to, but not including, 12f9eef39e49716c763714bfda835a733d5f6dea; 745a0810dbc96a0471e5f5e627ba1e978c3116d4 up to, but not including, ceb46b40b021d21911ff8608ce4ed33c1264ad2f; b167312390fdd461c81ead516f2b0b44e83a9edb up to, but not including, a6dc74209462c4fe5a88718d2f3a5286886081c8; 71de0b6e04bbee5575caf9a1e4d424e7dcc50018 up to, but not including, cfa64e2b3717be1da7c4c1aff7268a009e8c1610; 689a7980e4788e13e766763d53569fb78dea2513 up to, but not including, 46c670ff1ff466e5eccb3940f726586473dc053c; e75665dd096819b1184087ba5718bd93beafff51 up to, but not including, f2c06d718a7b85cbc59ceaa2ff3f46b178ac709c; e75665dd096819b1184087ba5718bd93beafff51 up to, but not including, deb353d9bb009638b7762cae2d0b6e8fdbb41a69; and 7 more ranges980f793645540ca7a6318165cc12f49d5febeb99, 12f9eef39e49716c763714bfda835a733d5f6dea, ceb46b40b021d21911ff8608ce4ed33c1264ad2f, a6dc74209462c4fe5a88718d2f3a5286886081c8, cfa64e2b3717be1da7c4c1aff7268a009e8c1610, 46c670ff1ff466e5eccb3940f726586473dc053c
LinuxLinux Kernel5.10.250 up to, but not including, 5.10.253; 5.15.200 up to, but not including, 5.15.203; 6.1.163 up to, but not including, 6.1.167; 6.6.124 up to, but not including, 6.6.130; 6.12.70 up to, but not including, 6.12.78; 6.18.10 up to, but not including, 6.18.20; 6.19.1 up to, but not including, 6.19.10; 6.19; and 1 more ranges5.10.253, 5.15.203, 6.1.167, 6.6.130, 6.12.78, 6.18.20

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
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
NoneNo data is disclosed.
Integrity
NoneNothing can be modified.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

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

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: wlcore: Return -ENOMEM instead of -EAGAIN if there is not enough headroom Since upstream commit e75665dd0968 ("wifi: wlcore: ensure skb headroom before skb_push"), wl1271_tx_allocate() and with it wl1271_prepare_tx_frame() returns -EAGAIN if pskb_expand_head() fails. However, in wlcore_tx_work_locked(), a return value of -EAGAIN from wl1271_prepare_tx_frame() is interpreted as the aggregation buffer being full. This causes the code to flush the buffer, put the skb back at the head of the queue, and immediately retry the same skb in a tight while loop. Because wlcore_tx_work_locked() holds wl->mutex, and the retry happens immediately with GFP_ATOMIC, this will result in an infinite loop and a CPU soft lockup. Return -ENOMEM instead so the packet is dropped and the loop terminates. The problem was found by an experimental code review agent based on gemini-3.1-pro while reviewing backports into v6.18.y.

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

The underlying weakness: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition

The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop.

More Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition vulnerabilities (CWE-835)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition vulnerabilities

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