CVE-2026-31516: xfrm: prevent policy_hthresh.work from racing with netns teardown

Published Apr 22, 2026
·
Updated

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

xfrm: prevent policyhthresh.work from racing with netns teardown

A XFRMMSGNEWSPDINFO request can queue the per-net work item policyhthresh.work onto the system workqueue.

The queued callback, xfrmhashrebuild(), retrieves the enclosing struct net via containerof(). If the net namespace is torn down before that work runs, the associated struct net may already have been freed, and xfrmhashrebuild() may then dereference stale memory.

xfrmpolicyfini() already flushes policyhashwork during teardown, but it does not synchronize policyhthresh.work.

Synchronize policyhthresh.work in xfrmpolicyfini() as well, so the queued work cannot outlive the net namespace teardown and access a freed struct net.

Affected Software

254 affected componentsFixes available
Linux Linux kernel
Linux Linux kernel>=3.18.1<6.12.80
Linux Linux kernel>=6.13<6.18.21
Linux Linux kernel>=6.19<6.19.11
Linux Linux kernel=3.18
Linux Linux kernel=7.0-rc1
Linux Linux kernel=7.0-rc2
Linux Linux kernel=7.0-rc3
Linux Linux kernel=7.0-rc4
Linux Linux kernel=7.0-rc5
Linux Linux kernel=7.0-rc6
Linux Linux kernel=7.0-rc7
debian/linux<=6.1.176-1, <=6.1.190-1
6.12.107-16.12.115-27.2.12-17.2.15-1
ubuntu/linux-aws*
ubuntu/linux-azure*
ubuntu/linux-lts-xenial*
ubuntu/linux*
ubuntu/linux-aws*
ubuntu/linux-aws-hwe*
ubuntu/linux-azure*
ubuntu/linux-gcp*
ubuntu/linux-hwe*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-edge*
ubuntu/linux-kvm*
ubuntu/linux-oracle*
ubuntu/linux-fips*
ubuntu/linux-fips*
ubuntu/linux*
ubuntu/linux-aws*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.0*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.3*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.4*
ubuntu/linux-azure*
ubuntu/linux-azure-4.15*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.3*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.4*
ubuntu/linux-azure-edge*
ubuntu/linux-gcp*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-4.15*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.3*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.4*
ubuntu/linux-gke-4.15*
ubuntu/linux-gke-5.4*
ubuntu/linux-gkeop-5.4*
ubuntu/linux-hwe*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.4*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-edge*
ubuntu/linux-ibm-5.4*
ubuntu/linux-kvm*
ubuntu/linux-oem*
ubuntu/linux-oracle*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.0*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.3*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.4*
ubuntu/linux-raspi-5.4*
ubuntu/linux-aws-fips*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fips*
ubuntu/linux-fips*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips*
ubuntu/linux-aws-fips*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fips*
ubuntu/linux-fips*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips*
ubuntu/linux*
ubuntu/linux-aws*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-azure*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-bluefield*
ubuntu/linux-gcp*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-gke*
ubuntu/linux-gke-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-gkeop*
ubuntu/linux-gkeop-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-ibm*
ubuntu/linux-ibm-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-intel-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-intel-iotg-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-iot*
ubuntu/linux-kvm*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-tegra-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-oem-5.10*
ubuntu/linux-oem-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-oem-5.6*
ubuntu/linux-oracle*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-raspi*
ubuntu/linux-raspi2*
ubuntu/linux-riscv*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-xilinx-zynqmp*
ubuntu/linux-aws-fips*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fips*
ubuntu/linux-fips*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips*
ubuntu/linux-aws-fips*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fips*
ubuntu/linux-fips*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips*
ubuntu/linux*
ubuntu/linux-allwinner-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-aws*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.8<6.8.0-1061.64~22.04.1
6.8.0-1061.64~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-azure*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.8<6.8.0-1063.71~22.04.1
6.8.0-1063.71~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.8<6.8.0-1062.69~22.04.1
6.8.0-1062.69~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-gcp*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.8<6.8.0-1064.72~22.04.1
6.8.0-1064.72~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-gke*
ubuntu/linux-gkeop*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.8<6.8.0-136.136~22.04.1
6.8.0-136.136~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-ibm*
ubuntu/linux-ibm-6.8<6.8.0-1061.62~22.04.1
6.8.0-1061.62~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-intel-iot-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-intel-iotg*
ubuntu/linux-kvm*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8<6.8.0-136.136.2~22.04.1
6.8.0-136.136.2~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-nvidia*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.8<6.8.0-1059.62~22.04.1
6.8.0-1059.62~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-tegra*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-tegra-igx*
ubuntu/linux-oem-5.17*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.0*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.1*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-oracle*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.8<6.8.0-1058.61~22.04.1
6.8.0-1058.61~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-raspi*
ubuntu/linux-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-riscv*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.8<6.8.0-136.136~22.04.3
6.8.0-136.136~22.04.3
ubuntu/linux-starfive-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-starfive-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-starfive-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-xilinx-zynqmp*
ubuntu/linux-bluefield*
ubuntu/linux-intel-iot-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.8<6.8.1-1056.57~22.04.2
6.8.1-1056.57~22.04.2
ubuntu/linux-aws-fips*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fips*
ubuntu/linux-fips*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips*
ubuntu/linux-aws-fips*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fips*
ubuntu/linux-fips*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips*
ubuntu/linux<6.8.0-136.136
6.8.0-136.136
ubuntu/linux-aws<6.8.0-1061.64
6.8.0-1061.64
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.17*
ubuntu/linux-azure<6.8.0-1063.71
6.8.0-1063.71
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.17*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde<6.8.0-1062.69
6.8.0-1062.69
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-azure-nvidia*
ubuntu/linux-azure-nvidia-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-gcp<6.8.0-1064.72
6.8.0-1064.72
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-gke<6.8.0-1059.67
6.8.0-1059.67
ubuntu/linux-gkeop<6.8.0-1046.50
6.8.0-1046.50
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.17*
ubuntu/linux-ibm<6.8.0-1061.62
6.8.0-1061.62
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency<6.8.0-136.136.2
6.8.0-136.136.2
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia<6.8.0-1059.62
6.8.0-1059.62
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.17*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-lowlatency<6.8.0-1059.62.1
6.8.0-1059.62.1
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-tegra<6.8.0-1030.31
6.8.0-1030.31
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.17*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.8*
ubuntu/linux-oracle<6.8.0-1058.61
6.8.0-1058.61
ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.17*
ubuntu/linux-raspi<6.8.0-1061.65
6.8.0-1061.65
ubuntu/linux-raspi-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-riscv*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.17*
ubuntu/linux-vmware<6.8.0-1008.8
6.8.0-1008.8
ubuntu/linux-xilinx<6.8.0-1033.34
6.8.0-1033.34
ubuntu/linux-bluefield<6.8.0-1028.33
6.8.0-1028.33
ubuntu/linux-raspi-realtime<6.8.0-2050.52
6.8.0-2050.52
ubuntu/linux-realtime<6.8.1-1056.57
6.8.1-1056.57
ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.17*
ubuntu/linux-aws-fips<6.8.0-1061.64+fips1
6.8.0-1061.64+fips1
ubuntu/linux-azure-fips<6.8.0-1063.71+fips2
6.8.0-1063.71+fips2
ubuntu/linux-fips<6.8.0-136.136+fips2
6.8.0-136.136+fips2
ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips<6.8.0-1064.72+fips1
6.8.0-1064.72+fips1
ubuntu/linux*
ubuntu/linux-aws*
ubuntu/linux-azure*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde*
ubuntu/linux-gcp*
ubuntu/linux-oracle*
ubuntu/linux-raspi*
ubuntu/linux-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-riscv*

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.12.107-1Fixed in 6.12.115-2Fixed in 7.2.12-1Fixed in 7.2.15-1
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1061.64~22.04.1
  3. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1063.71~22.04.1
  4. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1062.69~22.04.1
  5. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1064.72~22.04.1
  6. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-136.136~22.04.1
  7. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-ibm-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1061.62~22.04.1
  8. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-136.136.2~22.04.1
  9. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1059.62~22.04.1
  10. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1058.61~22.04.1
  11. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-136.136~22.04.3
  12. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.1-1056.57~22.04.2
  13. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-136.136
  14. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1061.64
  15. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1063.71
  16. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-fde to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1062.69
  17. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1064.72
  18. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gke to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1059.67
  19. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gkeop to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1046.50
  20. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-ibm to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1061.62
  21. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-lowlatency to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-136.136.2
  22. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1059.62
  23. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-lowlatency to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1059.62.1
  24. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-tegra to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1030.31
  25. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oracle to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1058.61
  26. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-raspi to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1061.65
  27. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-vmware to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1008.8
  28. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-xilinx to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1033.34
  29. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-bluefield to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1028.33
  30. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-raspi-realtime to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-2050.52
  31. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-realtime to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.1-1056.57
  32. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1061.64+fips1
  33. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1063.71+fips2
  34. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-136.136+fips2
  35. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1064.72+fips1

Event History

Apr 22, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·01:54 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·01:54 PM
DescriptionSeverity
Data Sourced
via OSV·02:16 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Data Sourced
via NVD·02:16 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Apr 23, 2026
Data Sourced
via Microsoft·08:04 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2026-31516?

CVE-2026-31516 has been classified with a severity level that may impact the stability of the Linux kernel.

2

How do I fix CVE-2026-31516?

To fix CVE-2026-31516, you should update to the latest patched version of the Linux kernel that addresses this vulnerability.

3

Who is affected by CVE-2026-31516?

CVE-2026-31516 affects users running vulnerable versions of the Linux kernel that utilize the XFRM subsystem.

4

What kind of attacks can CVE-2026-31516 help facilitate?

CVE-2026-31516 could be exploited to create race conditions that may lead to unexpected behavior during net namespace teardown.

5

When was CVE-2026-31516 reported?

CVE-2026-31516 was reported as part of ongoing security assessments of the Linux kernel.

Company

Resources

Contact

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