CVE-2026-31663 | xfrm: hold dev ref until after transport_finish NF_HOOK

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfrm: hold dev ref until after transport_finish NF_HOOK After async crypto completes, xfrm_input_resume() calls dev_put() immediately on re-entry before the skb reaches transport_finish. The skb->dev pointer is then used inside NF_HOOK and its okfn, which can race with device teardown. Remove the dev_put from the async resumption entry and instead drop the reference after the NF_HOOK call in transport_finish, using a saved device pointer since NF_HOOK may consume the skb. This covers NF_DROP, NF_QUEUE and NF_STOLEN paths that skip the okfn. For non-transport exits (decaps, gro, drop) and secondary async return points, release the reference inline when async is set.

Published: 2026-04-24 Last update: 2026-04-27 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-31663 is rated Low Risk (32.6/100): CVSS High 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-2026-31663

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 2026-04-25 0.02%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-31663

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 5.9 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-31663

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-31663

GHSA-v4m9-vrgr-8xm2 · Severity: high — In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfrm: hold dev ref until...

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-31663

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-31663 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): open 3, resolved 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-31663
redhat high https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-31663
suse high https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-31663/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-31663 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 170, needed 126, released 84, not-affected 17, needs-triage 5. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-31663

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-31663

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 3.2.100, < 3.3 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 3.16.55, < 3.17 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.14.24, < 4.15 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.15.1, < 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 4.15 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.15:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
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-2026-31663

cvelogic Threat Intelligence