Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-31642 is a medium-severity Infinite Loop (CWE-835) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Application or System Exploitation (T1499.004); ranked at the 2th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-4 (System Monitoring) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-25535
Vulnerability Data
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: rxrpc: Fix call removal to use RCU safe deletion Fix rxrpc call removal from the rxnet->calls list to use list_del_rcu() rather than list_del_init() to prevent stuffing up reading /proc/net/rxrpc/calls from…
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potentially getting into an infinite loop. This, however, means that list_empty() no longer works on an entry that's been deleted from the list, making it harder to detect prior deletion. Fix this by: Firstly, make rxrpc_destroy_all_calls() only dump the first ten calls that are unexpectedly still on the list. Limiting the number of steps means there's no need to call cond_resched() or to remove calls from the list here, thereby eliminating the need for rxrpc_put_call() to check for that. rxrpc_put_call() can then be fixed to unconditionally delete the call from the list as it is the only place that the deletion occurs.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Kernel bug (CWE-835 infinite loop in proc read path) directly enables local DoS via system exploitation.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation of list/RCU operations and /proc readers would have detected the non-RCU deletion that enables the infinite loop.
Verifying software integrity after kernel builds or module loads can block or detect introduction of the flawed rxrpc call-list handling.
Continuous system monitoring of CPU and procfs activity would identify the runaway loop when /proc/net/rxrpc/calls is read after a call is removed.
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.
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.
Security testing can uncover infinite-loop conditions before release.
Secure development life cycle mandates practices that can detect and prevent infinite-loop defects.
Application security requirements can specify loop-termination rules, indirectly reducing the weakness.
Secure coding standards directly address loop termination and prevent infinite loops.
Secure architecture principles encourage designs that avoid unreachable exit conditions.
Change management can require review of loop logic when code is modified.