# CVE-2026-31504

> Vulnerability · severity: **HIGH** (CVSS 7.8).

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: fix fanout UAF in packet_release() via NETDEV_UP race

`packet_release()` has a race window where `NETDEV_UP` can re-register a
socket into a fanout group's `arr[]` array. The re-registration is not
cleaned up by `fanout_release()`, leaving a dangling pointer in the fanout
array.
`packet_release()` does NOT zero `po->num` in its `bind_lock` section.
After releasing `bind_lock`, `po->num` is still non-zero and `po->ifindex`
still matches the bound device. A concurrent `packet_notifier(NETDEV_UP)`
that already found the socket in `sklist` can re-register the hook.
For fanout sockets, this re-registration calls `__fanout_link(sk, po)`
which adds the socket back into `f->arr[]` and increments `f->num_members`,
but does NOT increment `f->sk_ref`.

The fix sets `po->num` to zero in `packet_release` while `bind_lock` is
held to prevent NETDEV_UP from linking, preventing the race window.

This bug was found following an additional audit with Claude Code based
on CVE-2025-38617.

## Key facts

- **CVE ID:** CVE-2026-31504
- **Published:** 2026-04-22
- **CVSS severity:** HIGH
- **CVSS base score:** 7.8
- **CWE codes:** CWE-416

## Affected products

- `linux:linux_kernel`

## Primary sources

- NIST NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-31504

## Citation

> AI Analytics. CVE-2026-31504. Retrieved 2026-07-20 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/cve/CVE-2026-31504. Derived from NIST NVD. Licensed CC0.

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