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

virtio_net: Fix UAF on dst_ops when IFF_XMIT_DST_RELEASE is cleared and napi_tx is false

A UAF issue occurs when the virtio_net driver is configured with napi_tx=N
and the device's IFF_XMIT_DST_RELEASE flag is cleared
(e.g., during the configuration of tc route filter rules).

When IFF_XMIT_DST_RELEASE is removed from the net_device, the network stack
expects the driver to hold the reference to skb->dst until the packet
is fully transmitted and freed. In virtio_net with napi_tx=N,
skbs may remain in the virtio transmit ring for an extended period.

If the network namespace is destroyed while these skbs are still pending,
the corresponding dst_ops structure has freed. When a subsequent packet
is transmitted, free_old_xmit() is triggered to clean up old skbs.
It then calls dst_release() on the skb associated with the stale dst_entry.
Since the dst_ops (referenced by the dst_entry) has already been freed,
a UAF kernel paging request occurs.

fix it by adds skb_dst_drop(skb) in start_xmit to explicitly release
the dst reference before the skb is queued in virtio_net.

Call Trace:
Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address ffff80007e150000
CPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 6236 Comm: ping Kdump: loaded Not tainted 7.0.0-rc1+ #6 PREEMPT
...
percpu_counter_add_batch+0x3c/0x158 lib/percpu_counter.c:98 (P)
dst_release+0xe0/0x110 net/core/dst.c:177
skb_release_head_state+0xe8/0x108 net/core/skbuff.c:1177
sk_skb_reason_drop+0x54/0x2d8 net/core/skbuff.c:1255
dev_kfree_skb_any_reason+0x64/0x78 net/core/dev.c:3469
napi_consume_skb+0x1c4/0x3a0 net/core/skbuff.c:1527
__free_old_xmit+0x164/0x230 drivers/net/virtio_net.c:611 [virtio_net]
free_old_xmit drivers/net/virtio_net.c:1081 [virtio_net]
start_xmit+0x7c/0x530 drivers/net/virtio_net.c:3329 [virtio_net]
...

Reproduction Steps:
NETDEV="enp3s0"

config_qdisc_route_filter() {
tc qdisc del dev $NETDEV root
tc qdisc add dev $NETDEV root handle 1: prio
tc filter add dev $NETDEV parent 1:0 \
protocol ip prio 100 route to 100 flowid 1:1
ip route add 192.168.1.100/32 dev $NETDEV realm 100
}

test_ns() {
ip netns add testns
ip link set $NETDEV netns testns
ip netns exec testns ifconfig $NETDEV 10.0.32.46/24
ip netns exec testns ping -c 1 10.0.32.1
ip netns del testns
}

config_qdisc_route_filter

test_ns
sleep 2
test_ns
Published: 2026-04-22
Score: 7.8 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

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Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

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Tracking

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Advisories
Source ID Title
Debian DLA Debian DLA DLA-4561-1 linux-6.1 security update
Debian DSA Debian DSA DSA-6238-1 linux security update
Debian DSA Debian DSA DSA-6243-1 linux security update
History

Thu, 07 May 2026 18:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-416
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.0, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

 cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-911
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

 cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.0, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

threat_severity

Moderate

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 14:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio_net: Fix UAF on dst_ops when IFF_XMIT_DST_RELEASE is cleared and napi_tx is false A UAF issue occurs when the virtio_net driver is configured with napi_tx=N and the device's IFF_XMIT_DST_RELEASE flag is cleared (e.g., during the configuration of tc route filter rules). When IFF_XMIT_DST_RELEASE is removed from the net_device, the network stack expects the driver to hold the reference to skb->dst until the packet is fully transmitted and freed. In virtio_net with napi_tx=N, skbs may remain in the virtio transmit ring for an extended period. If the network namespace is destroyed while these skbs are still pending, the corresponding dst_ops structure has freed. When a subsequent packet is transmitted, free_old_xmit() is triggered to clean up old skbs. It then calls dst_release() on the skb associated with the stale dst_entry. Since the dst_ops (referenced by the dst_entry) has already been freed, a UAF kernel paging request occurs. fix it by adds skb_dst_drop(skb) in start_xmit to explicitly release the dst reference before the skb is queued in virtio_net. Call Trace: Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address ffff80007e150000 CPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 6236 Comm: ping Kdump: loaded Not tainted 7.0.0-rc1+ #6 PREEMPT ... percpu_counter_add_batch+0x3c/0x158 lib/percpu_counter.c:98 (P) dst_release+0xe0/0x110 net/core/dst.c:177 skb_release_head_state+0xe8/0x108 net/core/skbuff.c:1177 sk_skb_reason_drop+0x54/0x2d8 net/core/skbuff.c:1255 dev_kfree_skb_any_reason+0x64/0x78 net/core/dev.c:3469 napi_consume_skb+0x1c4/0x3a0 net/core/skbuff.c:1527 __free_old_xmit+0x164/0x230 drivers/net/virtio_net.c:611 [virtio_net] free_old_xmit drivers/net/virtio_net.c:1081 [virtio_net] start_xmit+0x7c/0x530 drivers/net/virtio_net.c:3329 [virtio_net] ... Reproduction Steps: NETDEV="enp3s0" config_qdisc_route_filter() { tc qdisc del dev $NETDEV root tc qdisc add dev $NETDEV root handle 1: prio tc filter add dev $NETDEV parent 1:0 \ protocol ip prio 100 route to 100 flowid 1:1 ip route add 192.168.1.100/32 dev $NETDEV realm 100 } test_ns() { ip netns add testns ip link set $NETDEV netns testns ip netns exec testns ifconfig $NETDEV 10.0.32.46/24 ip netns exec testns ping -c 1 10.0.32.1 ip netns del testns } config_qdisc_route_filter test_ns sleep 2 test_ns
Title virtio_net: Fix UAF on dst_ops when IFF_XMIT_DST_RELEASE is cleared and napi_tx is false
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Subscriptions

Linux Linux Kernel
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-05-11T22:09:20.343Z

Reserved: 2026-03-09T15:48:24.097Z

Link: CVE-2026-31469

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2026-04-22T14:16:43.260

Modified: 2026-05-07T18:18:57.993

Link: CVE-2026-31469

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Moderate

Publid Date: 2026-04-22T00:00:00Z

Links: CVE-2026-31469 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-05-07T19:30:27Z

Weaknesses