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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 15 May 2026.
Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-31431

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.12.89 / 4.13.66 or later.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Public exploit 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: crypto: algif_aead - Revert to operating out-of-place This mostly reverts commit 72548b093ee3 except for the copying of the associated data. There is no benefit in operating in-place in algif_aead since the source and destination come from different mappings. Get rid of all the complexity added for in-place operation and just copy the AD directly.

In the news

Third-party coverage
Trending covered by 1 outlet this week · latest 3mo ago

Surfaced from public web coverage — external links open in a new tab.

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 · high confidence

The Linux kernel's algif_aead cryptographic algorithm implementation contains a vulnerability stemming from a previous optimization commit (72548b093ee3) that attempted in-place operation. Since source and destination buffers originate from different memory mappings, this in-place optimization created a security flaw. The fix reverts to out-of-place operation by removing the added complexity and directly copying the associated data.

MitigationApply the kernel patch that reverts algif_aead to out-of-place operation, or update to a kernel version containing this fix.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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:>= 4.14, < 5.10.254>= 5.11, < 5.15.204>= 5.16, < 6.1.170>= 6.2, < 6.6.137>= 6.7, < 6.12.85>= 6.13, < 6.18.22>= 6.19, < 6.19.12= 7.0
Openshift Container PlatformApplication
Affected:>= 4.12, < 4.12.89>= 4.13, < 4.13.66>= 4.14, < 4.14.65>= 4.15, < 4.15.64>= 4.16, < 4.16.61>= 4.17, < 4.17.53>= 4.18, < 4.18.40>= 4.19, < 4.19.30>= 4.20, < 4.20.21>= 4.21, < 4.21.14= 4.0
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 9.0= 10.0
Enterprise Linux AusOperating system
Affected:= 8.4= 8.6
Enterprise Linux EusOperating system
Affected:= 8.4= 9.4= 9.6= 10.0
Enterprise Linux TusOperating system
Affected:= 8.6= 8.8
Enterprise Linux Update Services For Sap SolutionsOperating system
Affected:= 8.6= 8.8= 9.0= 9.2
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:all versions= 14.04= 16.04= 18.04= 20.04= 22.04= 24.04= 25.10

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the running kernel version
    Run `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version` to get the exact kernel version string
    Affected if The kernel version falls within any of these ranges: >= 4.14 and < 5.10.254; >= 5.11 and < 5.15.204; >= 5.16 and < 6.1.170; >= 6.2 and < 6.6.137; >= 6.7 and < 6.12.85; >= 6.13 and < 6.18.22; >= 6.19 and < 6.19.12; or equals exactly 7.0. For Ubuntu, all versions listed (14.04, 16.04, 18.04, 20.04, 22
  2. Confirm the algif_aead kernel interface is present
    Check if the AF_ALG kernel crypto interface is available by looking in /proc/crypto for 'algif_aead' entries, or attempt to load the module with `modprobe algif_aead` and verify success
    Affected if The algif_aead interface is loaded or loadable (the vulnerability only applies when this interface exists and can be used)
  3. Detect active AF_ALG sockets using aead
    Use `ss -x | grep alg` to list AF_ALG sockets, or check for processes that may be using the AF_ALG interface with `lsof 2>/dev/null | grep -i alg` or by examining /proc/*/fd for socket:[alg] entries
    Affected if Any process is actively using AF_ALG sockets with aead operations (the in-place memory handling flaw triggers during actual crypto operations with mismatched source/destination buffers)
  4. Check for RHEL/CentOS/RHEL-based distribution specific version
    For Red Hat systems, also run `rpm -q kernel` to list all installed kernel packages and compare against the specific RHEL version ranges: RHEL 8.0, 8.4, 8.6, 9.0, 10.0 and their EUS/AUS/TUS variants are listed as affected
    Affected if Running a Red Hat Enterprise Linux version exactly matching 8.0, 9.0, 10.0, 8.4, 8.6, 9.4, 9.6 or related update variants

The system is affected if the kernel version is within any of the vulnerable version ranges AND the algif_aead crypto interface is present and actively being used by applications, as the flaw only triggers during specific async AEAD operations with mismatched memory mappings.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 4.12.89 / 4.13.66 / 4.14.65 or later
Fixed in 4.12.894.13.664.14.65
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Interim mitigation

Apply the kernel patch that reverts algif_aead to out-of-place operation, or update to a kernel version containing this fix.

Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 5.10.254+ / 5.15.204+ / 6.1.170+ / 6.6.137+ (depending on branch); RHEL/CentOS Stream or appropriate vendor update; Ubuntu HWE or vendor kernel update

  1. 1. Identify the current running kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'hostnamectl'
  2. 2. Determine which kernel branch (5.10, 5.15, 6.1, or 6.6) your current version belongs to
  3. 3. For systems on kernel 5.10.x: upgrade to kernel version 5.10.254 or later
  4. 4. For systems on kernel 5.11.x through 5.15.x: upgrade to kernel version 5.15.204 or later
  5. 5. For systems on kernel 5.16.x through 6.1.x: upgrade to kernel version 6.1.170 or later
  6. 6. For systems on kernel 6.2.x through 6.6.x: upgrade to kernel version 6.6.137 or later
  7. 7. For Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems: apply the vendor-supplied kernel security update via 'yum update' or 'dnf update'
  8. 8. For Ubuntu systems: apply updates via 'apt update && apt upgrade' or 'apt-get dist-upgrade'
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce compatibility issues with custom kernel modules or specific hardware drivers; ensure backup and test in non-production environment first

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

Fix this in Linux Kernel Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,040
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2026-31431 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data