CVE-2026-31691 | igb: remove napi_synchronize() in igb_down()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: igb: remove napi_synchronize() in igb_down() When an AF_XDP zero-copy application terminates abruptly (e.g., kill -9), the XSK buffer pool is destroyed but NAPI polling continues. igb_clean_rx_irq_zc() repeatedly returns the full budget, preventing napi_complete_done() from clearing NAPI_STATE_SCHED. igb_down() calls napi_synchronize() before napi_disable() for each queue vector. napi_synchronize() spins waiting for NAPI_STATE_SCHED to clear, which never happens. igb_down() blocks indefinitely, the TX watchdog fires, and the TX queue remains permanently stalled. napi_disable() already handles this correctly: it sets NAPI_STATE_DISABLE. After a full-budget poll, __napi_poll() checks napi_disable_pending(). If set, it forces completion and clears NAPI_STATE_SCHED, breaking the loop that napi_synchronize() cannot. napi_synchronize() was added in commit 41f149a285da ("igb: Fix possible panic caused by Rx traffic arrival while interface is down"). napi_disable() provides stronger guarantees: it prevents further scheduling and waits for any active poll to exit. Other Intel drivers (ixgbe, ice, i40e) use napi_disable() without a preceding napi_synchronize() in their down paths. Remove redundant napi_synchronize() call and reorder napi_disable() before igb_set_queue_napi() so the queue-to-NAPI mapping is only cleared after polling has fully stopped.

Published: 2026-04-27 Last update: 2026-05-06 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-31691 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-2026-31691

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 2026-04-28 0.02%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-31691

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-2026-31691

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-31691

GHSA-3mf8-6wc5-2f9c · Severity: medium — In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: igb: remove napi_synchronize...

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-31691

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2026-31691 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-2026-31691
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-31691
suse medium CVE-2026-31691 severity moderate: SUSE including 24 source package names (cluster-md-kmp-default, dlm-kmp-default, …), 206 product×package rows across 37 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7, SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS, … (37 product lines)): Known Not Affected 206. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-31691/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-31691 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 122, released 84, needed 22, needs-triage 5. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-31691

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-31691

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 6.14, < 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 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-2026-31691

cvelogic Threat Intelligence