CVE-2026-31638 | rxrpc: Only put the call ref if one was acquired

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: rxrpc: Only put the call ref if one was acquired rxrpc_input_packet_on_conn() can process a to-client packet after the current client call on the channel has already been torn down. In that case chan->call is NULL, rxrpc_try_get_call() returns NULL and there is no reference to drop. The client-side implicit-end error path does not account for that and unconditionally calls rxrpc_put_call(). This turns a protocol error path into a kernel crash instead of rejecting the packet. Only drop the call reference if one was actually acquired. Keep the existing protocol error handling unchanged.

Published: 2026-04-24 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-31638 is rated Moderate Risk (42.6/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.44%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

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-2026-31638

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 2026-06-15 0.05% 0.44% +0.39%
2 2026-04-28 0.02% 0.05% +0.03%
3 2026-04-25 0.02%

Full EPSS history (3 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-31638

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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.
3.9 3.6 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-31638

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-31638

GHSA-5vqj-w88j-2624 · Severity: high — In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: rxrpc: Only put the call ref...

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-31638

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2026-31638 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-2026-31638
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-31638
suse medium CVE-2026-31638 severity moderate: SUSE including 19 source package names (cluster-md-kmp-default, dlm-kmp-default, …), 130 product×package rows across 24 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS, SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS, … (24 product lines)): Known Not Affected 130. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-31638/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-31638 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 1047, ignored 169, not-affected 89, released 84, needed 55, needs-triage 5. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-31638

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-31638

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2.1, < 6.6.135 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.82 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.18.23 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 6.19.13 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.2 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
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-2026-31638

cvelogic Threat Intelligence