Vulnerability record · CVE-2026-31638 · published 24 April 2026
CVE-2026-31638: Linux kernel null pointer dereference vulnerability
Linux · Linux Kernel
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: rxrpc: Only put the call ref if one was acquired rxrpc_input_packet_on_conn() can process a to-client packet after the current client call on the channel has already been torn down. In that case chan->call is NULL, rxrpc_try_get_call() returns NULL and there is no reference to drop. The client-side implicit-end error path does not account for that and unconditionally calls rxrpc_put_call(). This turns a protocol error path into a kernel crash instead of rejecting the packet. Only drop the call reference if one was actually acquired. Keep the existing protocol error handling unchanged.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: rxrpc: Only put the call ref if one was acquired rxrpc_input_packet_on_conn() can process a to-client packet after the current client call on the channel has already been torn down. In that case chan->call is NULL, rxrpc_try_get_call() returns NULL and there is no reference to drop. The client-side implicit-end error path does not account for that and unconditionally calls rxrpc_put_call(). This turns a protocol error path into a kernel crash instead of rejecting the packet. Only drop the call reference if one was actually acquired. Keep the existing protocol error handling unchanged.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Affected products
1 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.
References
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Related vulnerabilities
Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2026-31638), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-26). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.