CVE-2026-31472 | xfrm: iptfs: validate inner IPv4 header length in IPTFS payload

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfrm: iptfs: validate inner IPv4 header length in IPTFS payload Add validation of the inner IPv4 packet tot_len and ihl fields parsed from decrypted IPTFS payloads in __input_process_payload(). A crafted ESP packet containing an inner IPv4 header with tot_len=0 causes an infinite loop: iplen=0 leads to capturelen=min(0, remaining)=0, so the data offset never advances and the while(data < tail) loop never terminates, spinning forever in softirq context. Reject inner IPv4 packets where tot_len < ihl*4 or ihl*4 < sizeof(struct iphdr), which catches both the tot_len=0 case and malformed ihl values. The normal IP stack performs this validation in ip_rcv_core(), but IPTFS extracts and processes inner packets before they reach that layer.

Published: 2026-04-22 Last update: 2026-04-27 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-31472 is rated Low Risk (23.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.02%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-31472

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-04-23 0.02%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-31472

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-31472

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-31472

GHSA-j49f-wwvq-pvp4 · Severity: medium — In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfrm: iptfs: validate inner...

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-31472

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2026-31472 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-31472
redhat https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-31472
suse medium https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-31472/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-31472 medium priority: Ubuntu including 161 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1449 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, resolute, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1048, ignored 169, not-affected 123, released 83, needed 22, needs-triage 4. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-31472

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-31472

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 6.14.1, < 6.18.21 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 6.19.11 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.14 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-31472

cvelogic Threat Intelligence