Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-31502

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.80 / 6.18.21 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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: team: fix header_ops type confusion with non-Ethernet ports Similar to commit 950803f72547 ("bonding: fix type confusion in bond_setup_by_slave()") team has the same class of header_ops type confusion. For non-Ethernet ports, team_setup_by_port() copies port_dev->header_ops directly. When the team device later calls dev_hard_header() or dev_parse_header(), these callbacks can run with the team net_device instead of the real lower device, so netdev_priv(dev) is interpreted as the wrong private type and can crash. The syzbot report shows a crash in bond_header_create(), but the root cause is in team: the topology is gre -> bond -> team, and team calls the inherited header_ops with its own net_device instead of the lower device, so bond_header_create() receives a team device and interprets netdev_priv() as bonding private data, causing a type confusion crash. Fix this by introducing team header_ops wrappers for create/parse, selecting a team port under RCU, and calling the lower device callbacks with port->dev, so each callback always sees the correct net_device context. Also pass the selected lower device to the lower parse callback, so recursion is bounded in stacked non-Ethernet topologies and parse callbacks always run with the correct device context.

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-843

A resource is accessed as one type when it was actually allocated as another, so the code misreads memory layout — in interpreters and language runtimes this is frequently a direct path to code execution. It often arises from unchecked casts on attacker-influenced objects. The fix is strict type checks before casts and memory-safe access patterns.

General guidance for the type confusion 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:>= 3.7.1, < 6.12.80>= 6.13, < 6.18.21>= 6.19, < 6.19.11= 3.7= 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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 6.12.80 / 6.18.21 / 6.19.11 or later
Fixed in 6.12.806.18.216.19.11
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

6.12.80 (for 6.12.x users), 6.18.21 (for 6.13-6.18.x users), or 6.19.11 (for 6.19.x users)

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Determine which affected version range the current kernel falls into based on the CVEs affected versions (>= 3.7.1, < 6.12.80; >= 6.13, < 6.18.21; >= 6.19, < 6.19.11; = 3.7)
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to the first fixed version in your stable branch: For 6.12.x line, upgrade to 6.12.80 or later; For 6.13.x through 6.18.x line, upgrade to 6.18.21 or later; For 6.19.x line, upgrade to 6.19.11 or later
  4. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version matches or exceeds the fixed version, and confirm the team driver module loads without errors using `modinfo team` and checking dmesg for any related errors
Caveat Kernel upgrades may introduce compatibility changes with existing modules or configurations; ensure all custom kernel modules are compatible with the target version before production deployment

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 $1,950. Get the upgrade done

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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-2026-31502 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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