Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-31761

Race Condition in Linux Kernel 4.10 – 5.10.253

Published
01 May 2026
Modified
14 July 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 0.0010 1th percentile
Risk Priority 54 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2026-31761 is a high-severity Race Condition (CWE-362) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 1th 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 SC-39 (Process Isolation) and SC-4 (Information in Shared System Resources) — 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-2026-31761 is a race condition vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Industrial I/O (IIO) subsystem, specifically within the MPU3050 gyroscope driver. The flaw occurs because the iio_device_register() function is invoked too early in the probe function, potentially exposing the device to concurrent access issues before full initialization. It affects Linux kernel versions prior to the application of the referenced stable patches and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

A local attacker with low privileges can exploit this vulnerability through low-complexity means without requiring user interaction. Exploitation involves triggering the race condition during device probing, which could allow the attacker to achieve high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or system disruption within the context of the affected driver.

Mitigation is provided through kernel patches in multiple stable branches, which relocate iio_device_register() to the end of the probe function and position iio_device_unregister() accordingly to eliminate the race. These fixes are available in the following commits: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/051ca43b0e0e4b66bfd349cd53ccf231ad1d69b7, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/22487ef85f6dd9499ddf49b85a08afc50a3f1992, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2a4537653d200fda2a8516083459f8ff6194f8fc, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4c05799449108fb0e0a6bd30e65fffc71e60db4d, and https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/59a317f8215674c8330817770497301bfb2c1b99. Security practitioners should update to kernels incorporating these changes.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iio: gyro: mpu3050: Move iio_device_register() to correct location iio_device_register() should be at the end of the probe function to prevent race conditions. Place iio_device_register() at the end of the probe…

more

function and place iio_device_unregister() accordingly.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

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Affected Assets

linux
linux kernel
7.0 · 4.10 — 5.10.253 · 5.11 — 5.15.203 · 5.16 — 6.1.168

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V10.4.2
  • V10.4.5
  • V15.1.3
  • V15.4.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Maintaining separate execution domains for each process structurally eliminates unintended concurrent access to the same shared resources.

Preventing unintended information transfer through shared system resources directly addresses the improper concurrent modification that defines a race condition.

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 require proper synchronization primitives and concurrency testing that prevent race conditions.

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 can detect race conditions, but does not prevent them at design or coding time.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates concurrency controls and synchronization primitives that directly prevent race conditions.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify thread-safety and locking rules, but do not prescribe implementation details.

prevents

Secure architecture principles require proper synchronization and resource isolation, addressing the root cause of CWE-362.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe concurrent access patterns and mandate atomic operations or locks.

References