Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-31427

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.10.253 / 5.15.203 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nf_conntrack_sip: fix use of uninitialized rtp_addr in process_sdp process_sdp() declares union nf_inet_addr rtp_addr on the stack and passes it to the nf_nat_sip sdp_session hook after walking the SDP media descriptions. However rtp_addr is only initialized inside the media loop when a recognized media type with a non-zero port is found. If the SDP body contains no m= lines, only inactive media sections (m=audio 0 ...) or only unrecognized media types, rtp_addr is never assigned. Despite that, the function still calls hooks->sdp_session() with &rtp_addr, causing nf_nat_sdp_session() to format the stale stack value as an IP address and rewrite the SDP session owner and connection lines with it. With CONFIG_INIT_STACK_ALL_ZERO (default on most distributions) this results in the session-level o= and c= addresses being rewritten to 0.0.0.0 for inactive SDP sessions. Without stack auto-init the rewritten address is whatever happened to be on the stack. Fix this by pre-initializing rtp_addr from the session-level connection address (caddr) when available, and tracking via a have_rtp_addr flag whether any valid address was established. Skip the sdp_session hook entirely when no valid address exists.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-908

Memory or a resource is used before it has been initialised, so its contents are whatever happened to be there — sometimes leaking earlier data, sometimes values an attacker can influence. Behaviour becomes unpredictable and occasionally exploitable. Remediation is initialising every resource before use and ensuring initialisation happens on all code paths.

General guidance for the use of uninitialized resource class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 2.6.26, < 5.10.253>= 5.11, < 5.15.203>= 5.16, < 6.1.168>= 6.2, < 6.6.131>= 6.7, < 6.12.80>= 6.13, < 6.18.21>= 6.19, < 6.19.11= 7.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.10.253 / 5.15.203 / 6.1.168 or later
Fixed in 5.10.2535.15.2036.1.168
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel >= 5.10.253, >= 5.15.203, >= 6.1.168, or >= 6.6.131 depending on which branch is in use

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Determine which kernel branch is running (e.g., 5.10.x, 5.15.x, 6.1.x, 6.2.x)
  3. Upgrade the kernel to the first fixed version in the applicable branch: for 5.10.x upgrade to >= 5.10.253, for 5.15.x upgrade to >= 5.15.203, for 6.1.x upgrade to >= 6.1.168, or for 6.2+ upgrade to >= 6.6.131
  4. Apply the upgrade using the distribution's package manager (e.g., `apt-get dist-upgrade`, `yum update`, or `dnf upgrade`)
  5. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  6. Verify the running kernel version with `uname -r` to confirm the fix is applied
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce compatibility changes with out-of-tree kernel modules or proprietary drivers; test in staging environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-31427 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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