Use After Free in Linux
CVE-2026-31644
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: lan966x: fix use-after-free and leak in lan966x_fdma_reload() When lan966x_fdma_reload() fails to allocate new RX buffers, the restore path restarts DMA using old descriptors whose pages were already freed via lan966x_fdma_rx_free_pages(). Since page_pool_put_full_page() can release pages back to the buddy allocator, the hardware may DMA into memory now owned by other kernel subsystems. Additionally, on the restore path, the newly created page pool (if allocation partially succeeded) is overwritten without being destroyed, leaking it. Fix both issues by deferring the release of old pages until after the new allocation succeeds. Save the old page array before the allocation so old pages can be freed on the success path. On the failure path, the old descriptors, pages and page pool are all still valid, making the restore safe. Also ensure the restore path re-enables NAPI and wakes the netdev, matching the success path.
Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.002 (5.7th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 6th percentile — 5.7% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.001 · newest: 0.002 · change: +0.000
Affected products
- Linux — versions 89ba464fcf548d64bc7215dfe769f791330ae8b6, 6.12, 0
- Linux Kernel — versions 6.12, 7.0
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-31644?
- CVE-2026-31644 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2026-04-24.
- How severe is CVE-2026-31644?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.