CVE-2026-31555
MediumIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: futex: Clear stale exiting pointer in futex_lock_pi() retry path Fuzzying/stressing futexes triggered: WARNING: kernel/futex/core.c:825 at wait_for_owner_exiting+0x7a/0x80, CPU#11: futex_lock_pi_s/524 When futex_lock_pi_atomic() sees the owner is exiting, it returns -EBUSY and stores a refcounted task pointer in 'exiting'. After wait_for_owner_exiting() consumes that reference, the local pointer is never reset to nil. Upon a retry, if futex_lock_pi_atomic() returns a different error, the bogus pointer is passed to wait_for_owner_exiting(). CPU0 CPU1 CPU2 futex_lock_pi(uaddr) // acquires the PI futex exit() futex_cleanup_begin() futex_state = EXITING; futex_lock_pi(uaddr) futex_lock_pi_atomic() attach_to_pi_owner() // observes EXITING *exiting = owner; // takes ref return -EBUSY wait_for_owner_exiting(-EBUSY, owner) put_task_struct(); // drops ref // exiting still points to owner goto retry; futex_lock_pi_atomic() lock_pi_update_atomic() cmpxchg(uaddr) *uaddr ^= WAITERS // whatever // value changed return -EAGAIN; wait_for_owner_exiting(-EAGAIN, exiting) // stale WARN_ON_ONCE(exiting) Fix this by resetting upon retry, essentially aligning it with requeue_pi.
CVSS 3.1 score
5.5
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
4.4.255,
4.9.255,
4.14.158,
4.19.172,
5.4.1,
5.5
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.10.253,
5.15.203,
6.1.168,
6.6.131,
6.12.80,
6.18.21,
6.19.11,
7.0
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-31555 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/210d36d892de5195e6766c45519dfb1e65f3eb83
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/33095ae3bdde5e5c264d7e88a2f3e7703a26c7aa
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5e8e06bf8909e79b4acd950cf578cfc2f10bbefa
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-31555?
CVE-2026-31555 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.4.255 onward and has been patched in 5.10.253, 5.15.203, 6.1.168 and others. CVE-2026-31555 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-31555?
CVE-2026-31555 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. -
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-31555?
Yes — CVE-2026-31555 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.253, 5.15.203, 6.1.168 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.4.255 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-31555 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2026-31555 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.