What is CVE-2026-53231?

CVE-2026-53231 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, classified as a Improper Locking flaw (CWE-667), affecting Linux kernel versions from 7.0 onward and patched in 7.0.13 and 7.1. CVE-2026-53231 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-53231?

CVE-2026-53231 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity. 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-2026-53231?

Yes, CVE-2026-53231 has been patched. Fixed versions include 7.0.13 and 7.1. If you are running Linux kernel 7.0 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-53231 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-53231 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is Improper Locking (CWE-667)?

The product does not properly acquire or release a lock, which can lead to unexpected behaviour. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/667.html

CVE-2026-53231

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: phy: don't try to setup PHY-driven SFP cages when using genphy We don't have support for PHY-driver SFP cages with the genphy code. On top of that, it was found by sashiko that running sfp_bus_add_upstream() for genphy deadlocks, as for genphy the PHY probing runs under RTNL, which isn't the case for non-genphy drivers. This problem was reproduced, and does lead to a deadlock on RTNL. Before the blamed commit, the phy_sfp_probe() call was made by individual PHY drivers, so there was no way to get to the SFP probing path when using genphy. Let's therefore only run phy_sfp_probe when not using genphy.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-06-25

Last modified 2026-07-02

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10

Medium

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Vector string

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

Weakness type

CWE-667

CVE-2026-53231 is a Improper Locking vulnerability

What is Improper Locking?

The product does not properly acquire or release a lock, which can lead to unexpected behaviour. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 7.0 and later are affected. Fixed in 7.0.13, 7.1 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 7.0

Fixed in

✓ 7.0.13 7.0.x ✓ 7.1

References

2 total

Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a0082ec20a05ef2378410323a5089a8f1786f4a

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ef8d739eee6f85303cbecebc01eb72f063de74e0

Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-53231

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-06-25

Modified 2026-07-02

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-53231?

CVE-2026-53231 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as an Improper Locking flaw (CWE-667) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 7.0 onward and has been patched in 7.0.13 and 7.1. CVE-2026-53231 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-53231?

CVE-2026-53231 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-2026-53231?

Yes. CVE-2026-53231 has been patched. Fixed versions include 7.0.13 and 7.1. If you are running Linux kernel 7.0 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-53231 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2026-53231 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.