Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-31580

Memory Safety in Linux Kernel ≤ 6.6.136

Published
24 April 2026
Modified
01 June 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0013 3th percentile
Risk Priority 54 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-31580 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 3th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

This vulnerability is AI-related — categorised as Other Platforms; in the Not Applicable risk domain.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-8 (Security and Privacy Engineering Principles) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2026-31580 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's bcache subsystem, specifically affecting the cached_dev.sb_bio field. This issue arises when a bcache device is stopped during a superblock write operation, leading to the cached_dev structure being freed while an associated sb_bio remains pending. Upon completion of the bio (endio), the freed sb_bio address is accessed, resulting in crashes. The vulnerability has been observed in production environments, particularly in conjunction with libceph, as evidenced by kernel crash traces involving blk_update_request, rbd_img_handle_request, and ceph_con_workfn.

A local attacker with low privileges (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L) can exploit this vulnerability by triggering the race condition between stopping the bcache device and completing a superblock write. Successful exploitation leads to high-impact consequences, including unauthorized access to sensitive data (C:H), modification of data or code (I:H), and system crashes or denial of service (A:H), as scored by CVSS 3.1 at 7.8. The core weakness is classified as CWE-416 (Use After Free).

Kernel patches addressing this issue are available in stable branches via the referenced commits, which modify cached_dev_free to wait for any in-progress sb_write to complete before freeing the structure, thereby preventing the use-after-free. Security practitioners should update to kernels incorporating these fixes, such as those from git.kernel.org stable repositories.

In production deployments, multiple crash reports linked to libceph have been reported, highlighting real-world impact on systems using bcache with Ceph RBD. The patch development involved analysis shared with QWEN, which contributed modifications to the fix.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bcache: fix cached_dev.sb_bio use-after-free and crash In our production environment, we have received multiple crash reports regarding libceph, which have caught our attention: ``` [6888366.280350] Call Trace: [6888366.280452] blk_update_request+0x14e/0x370 [6888366.280561]…

more

blk_mq_end_request+0x1a/0x130 [6888366.280671] rbd_img_handle_request+0x1a0/0x1b0 [rbd] [6888366.280792] rbd_obj_handle_request+0x32/0x40 [rbd] [6888366.280903] __complete_request+0x22/0x70 [libceph] [6888366.281032] osd_dispatch+0x15e/0xb40 [libceph] [6888366.281164] ? inet_recvmsg+0x5b/0xd0 [6888366.281272] ? ceph_tcp_recvmsg+0x6f/0xa0 [libceph] [6888366.281405] ceph_con_process_message+0x79/0x140 [libceph] [6888366.281534] ceph_con_v1_try_read+0x5d7/0xf30 [libceph] [6888366.281661] ceph_con_workfn+0x329/0x680 [libceph] ``` After analyzing the coredump file, we found that the address of dc->sb_bio has been freed. We know that cached_dev is only freed when it is stopped. Since sb_bio is a part of struct cached_dev, rather than an alloc every time. If the device is stopped while writing to the superblock, the released address will be accessed at endio. This patch hopes to wait for sb_write to complete in cached_dev_free. It should be noted that we analyzed the cause of the problem, then tell all details to the QWEN and adopted the modifications it made.

CWE(s)

AI Security AnalysisAI

AI Category
Other Platforms
Risk Domain
Not Applicable
OWASP Top 10 for LLMs 2025
None mapped
Classification Reason
Matched keywords: qwen

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-45914Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2026-31554Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2026-31504Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-53459Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2026-45951Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2026-31399Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2025-21929Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2026-53025Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2024-47748Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-1118Same product: Linux Linux Kernel

Affected Assets

linux
linux kernel
≤ 6.6.136 · 6.12 — 6.12.83 · 6.13 — 6.18.24

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.3

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation can discover use-after-free bugs through dynamic analysis or fuzzing.

Engineering principles can require memory-safe constructs or languages that structurally avoid introducing use-after-free.

Process isolation confines the blast radius of use-after-free memory corruption to a single execution domain.

Memory protection controls limit exploitation impact by blocking unauthorized code execution from dangling pointers.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.

prevents

Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
  • V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416

References