VulnerabilityPublished 25 Apr 2026Updated 19 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-31676: Linux kernel · rxrpc: only handle RESPONSE during service challenge

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High · fixed in d0035e634dae83237ab7f5681eb52b2f65d0ceb8 : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS

0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 40% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

Exploitation: No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
Automatable: Attackers can reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
Technical impact: Limited control over the software or limited information exposure

CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-10-16.

Patch

Available – fixed in d0035e634dae83237ab7f5681eb52b2f65d0ceb8, c43ffdcfdbb5567b1f143556df8a04b4eeea041c, a6bcf8010af093fe04f7100562e9542ab7882585 +5

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 25 Apr 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 17926a79320afa9b95df6b977b40cca6d8713cea, < d0035e634dae83237ab7f5681eb52b2f65d0ceb8	Fixed in d0035e634dae83237ab7f5681eb52b2f65d0ceb8
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 17926a79320afa9b95df6b977b40cca6d8713cea, < c43ffdcfdbb5567b1f143556df8a04b4eeea041c	Fixed in c43ffdcfdbb5567b1f143556df8a04b4eeea041c
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 17926a79320afa9b95df6b977b40cca6d8713cea, < a6bcf8010af093fe04f7100562e9542ab7882585	Fixed in a6bcf8010af093fe04f7100562e9542ab7882585
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 17926a79320afa9b95df6b977b40cca6d8713cea, < a1a8efde03a40b6c658d580e96644d9b9a2a0d3a	Fixed in a1a8efde03a40b6c658d580e96644d9b9a2a0d3a
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 17926a79320afa9b95df6b977b40cca6d8713cea, < 29b44d904dceb832be880def08b8cb17a0aba91c	Fixed in 29b44d904dceb832be880def08b8cb17a0aba91c
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 17926a79320afa9b95df6b977b40cca6d8713cea, < 6c3a0fbdafef8316e34ae22333e317a341e737cd	Fixed in 6c3a0fbdafef8316e34ae22333e317a341e737cd

AI-suggested

A fix is available and has been applied in the Linux kernel versions identified by the fixed commit hashes. Users should update to a Linux kernel version that includes these fixes to mitigate the vulnerability. No additional mitigation steps are indicated beyond applying the official patch.

Description

CVE-2026-31676 is a high-severity vulnerability in the Linux kernel's rxrpc component. It involves improper handling of RESPONSE packets during the service challenge phase, which could lead to denial of service. The flaw is addressed by ensuring RESPONSE packets are only processed when the connection is in the RXRPC_CONN_SERVICE_CHALLENGING state, preventing duplicate or late packets from re-triggering setup procedures.

Impact

The vulnerability can cause denial of service (DoS) due to improper handling of RESPONSE packets that may trigger repeated or conflicting setup operations. The CVSS score of 7.5 (high) reflects network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction, unchanged scope, no confidentiality or integrity impact, but high impact on availability.

Summary

This vulnerability in the Linux kernel's rxrpc protocol handler arises from processing RESPONSE packets outside the intended service challenge state (RXRPC_CONN_SERVICE_CHALLENGING). The fix involves checking the connection state under a lock before verifying the response and initializing security, and using a local flag to control queuing of secured-connection work after state transition. This prevents duplicate or late RESPONSE packets from re-executing the setup path and avoids race conditions related to unlocked state checks.

CWE-362Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition') (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: MediumOWASP Top 10 A06:2025: Insecure Design (opens in a new tab)
The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.
Architecture and Design
In languages that support it, use synchronization primitives. Only wrap these around critical code to minimize the impact on performance.
Architecture and Design
Use thread-safe capabilities such as the data access abstraction in Spring.
Architecture and Design
Minimize the usage of shared resources in order to remove as much complexity as possible from the control flow and to reduce the likelihood of unexpected conditions occurring.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
Secure Design Principles (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.11.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Leveraging Time-of-Check and Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) Race Conditions (opens in a new tab)
Leveraging Race Conditions (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 13:40 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-362

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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