CVE-2026-31429

MEDIUMNVD 5.55.5
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

Score 5.5 from GitHub Security Advisory published 2026-04-20. NVD baseline CVSS 5.5; sources differ by 0.0.

Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: epss, ghsa, nvd
5.5EG
EchelonGraph verdictMonitorLow exploitation likelihood right now — keep watching.
  • Lower severity and no public exploit yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 0%CVSS: 5.5Exploit: None knownExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

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

net: skb: fix cross-cache free of KFENCE-allocated skb head

SKB_SMALL_HEAD_CACHE_SIZE is intentionally set to a non-power-of-2 value (e.g. 704 on x86_64) to avoid collisions with generic kmalloc bucket sizes. This ensures that skb_kfree_head() can reliably use skb_end_offset to distinguish skb heads allocated from skb_small_head_cache vs. generic kmalloc caches.

However, when KFENCE is enabled, kfence_ksize() returns the exact requested allocation size instead of the slab bucket size. If a caller (e.g. bpf_test_init) allocates skb head data via kzalloc() and the requested size happens to equal SKB_SMALL_HEAD_CACHE_SIZE, then slab_build_skb() -> ksize() returns that exact value. After subtracting skb_shared_info overhead, skb_end_offset ends up matching SKB_SMALL_HEAD_HEADROOM, causing skb_kfree_head() to incorrectly free the object to skb_small_head_cache instead of back to the original kmalloc cache, resulting in a slab cross-cache free:

kmem_cache_free(skbuff_small_head): Wrong slab cache. Expected skbuff_small_head but got kmalloc-1k

Fix this by always calling kfree(head) in skb_kfree_head(). This keeps the free path generic and avoids allocator-specific misclassification for KFENCE objects.

CVSS v3
5.5
EG Score
5.5(medium)
EG Risk
29(Track)
EG Risk 29/100SSVC: Track

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity55% × 45%
Exploitation0% × 40%
Automatability30% × 15%
Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence.
EPSS PROB
0%
EPSS %ILE
18%
KEV
Not listed

Published

April 20, 2026

Last Modified

May 20, 2026

Advisory Details (5)

Auto-updated Aug 2, 2026
No patch confirmed yet.
generic

net: skb: fix cross-cache free of KFENCE-allocated skb head - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/60313768a8edc7094435975587c00c2d7b834083
generic

net: skb: fix cross-cache free of KFENCE-allocated skb head - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/474e00b935db250cac320d10c1d3cf4e44b46721
generic

net: skb: fix cross-cache free of KFENCE-allocated skb head - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2d64618ea846d8d033477311f805ca487d6a6696
generic

net: skb: fix cross-cache free of KFENCE-allocated skb head - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/128b03ccb2582a643983a48a37fda58df80edbde
generic

net: skb: fix cross-cache free of KFENCE-allocated skb head - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0f42e3f4fe2a58394e37241d02d9ca6ab7b7d516

Vendor Advisories for CVE-2026-31429(2)

These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.

Patch Availability(1)

Vendor / EcosystemFixed in / PatchReleasedSource
linuxKernel @ 6.6.136osv

Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.

Affected Packages

(2 across 2 ecosystems)
Debian:13(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
linux6.12.38-1 ... 6.12.85-1~bpo12+1 (17 versions)6.12.85-1
Debian:14(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
linux6.12.100-1 ... 6.19~rc8-1~exp1 (127 versions)6.19.13-1

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

All Vendor Advisories

(13)

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 5× in last 7d / 29× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 207 total refreshes for this CVE.

  1. 2026-09-13 16:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-09-12 15:01 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-09-11 14:52 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-09-10 09:34 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-09-08 22:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-09-07 16:01 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-09-06 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-09-06 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-09-04 05:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-09-02 14:11 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-09-02 03:40 UTCOSV refresh
  12. 2026-09-01 13:53 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-09-01 04:39 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-09-01 04:39 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-08-30 19:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-08-30 01:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-08-28 21:41 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-08-27 14:25 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-08-26 14:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-08-25 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-08-24 14:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-08-23 00:19 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-08-21 23:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-08-20 22:55 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-08-20 22:55 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-08-19 17:03 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-08-18 13:48 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-08-17 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-08-16 14:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-08-16 06:25 UTCEG score recompute
  6. 2026-08-16 06:25 UTCVendor advisory
  7. 2026-08-16 06:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  8. 2026-08-16 02:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-08-15 01:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-08-14 04:34 UTCEG score recompute
  11. 2026-08-14 04:34 UTCVendor advisory
  12. 2026-08-14 04:34 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-08-13 22:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-08-12 18:44 UTCEG score recompute
  15. 2026-08-12 18:44 UTCVendor advisory
  16. 2026-08-12 18:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-08-12 13:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-08-11 05:42 UTCEG score recompute
  19. 2026-08-11 05:42 UTCVendor advisory
  20. 2026-08-11 05:42 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-08-11 00:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-08-10 04:45 UTCEG score recompute
  23. 2026-08-10 04:45 UTCVendor advisory
  24. 2026-08-10 04:45 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-08-09 13:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-08-09 03:49 UTCEG score recompute
  27. 2026-08-09 03:49 UTCVendor advisory
  28. 2026-08-09 03:49 UTCGHSA enrichment
  29. 2026-08-08 16:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  30. 2026-08-07 13:12 UTCEG score recompute
  31. 2026-08-07 13:12 UTCVendor advisory
  32. 2026-08-07 13:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  33. 2026-08-06 13:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  34. 2026-08-05 23:15 UTCEG score recompute
  35. 2026-08-05 23:15 UTCVendor advisory
  36. 2026-08-05 23:15 UTCGHSA enrichment
  37. 2026-08-05 19:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  38. 2026-08-04 15:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  39. 2026-08-04 10:38 UTCEPSS rescore
  40. 2026-08-03 21:27 UTCEG score recompute
  41. 2026-08-03 21:27 UTCVendor advisory
  42. 2026-08-03 21:27 UTCGHSA enrichment
  43. 2026-08-03 10:36 UTCEPSS rescore
  44. 2026-08-02 12:56 UTCEG score recompute
  45. 2026-08-02 12:56 UTCVendor advisory
  46. 2026-08-02 12:56 UTCGHSA enrichment
  47. 2026-08-02 02:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  48. 2026-08-01 04:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  49. 2026-07-30 16:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  50. 2026-07-30 01:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  51. 2026-07-28 15:36 UTCEPSS rescore
  52. 2026-07-26 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  53. 2026-07-26 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  54. 2026-07-25 14:18 UTCEPSS rescore
  55. 2026-07-25 14:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  56. 2026-07-24 14:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  57. 2026-07-23 14:18 UTCEPSS rescore
  58. 2026-07-23 14:18 UTCEPSS rescore
  59. 2026-07-23 03:08 UTCEG score recompute
  60. 2026-07-22 14:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  61. 2026-07-22 14:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  62. 2026-07-21 15:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  63. 2026-07-21 15:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  64. 2026-07-20 17:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  65. 2026-07-20 17:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  66. 2026-07-20 07:02 UTCOSV refresh
  67. 2026-07-19 14:31 UTCEPSS rescore
  68. 2026-07-19 14:31 UTCEPSS rescore
  69. 2026-07-19 02:29 UTCEPSS rescore
  70. 2026-07-18 10:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  71. 2026-07-18 10:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  72. 2026-07-16 17:03 UTCEPSS rescore
  73. 2026-07-16 17:03 UTCEPSS rescore
  74. 2026-07-15 16:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  75. 2026-07-15 16:57 UTCEPSS rescore

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2026-31429?
CVE-2026-31429 is a medium vulnerability published on April 20, 2026. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: skb: fix cross-cache free of KFENCE-allocated skb head SKBSMALLHEADCACHESIZE is intentionally set to a non-power-of-2 value (e.g. 704 on x86_64) to avoid collisions with generic kmalloc bucket sizes. This ensures that…
When was CVE-2026-31429 disclosed?
CVE-2026-31429 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on April 20, 2026, with the most recent update on May 20, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2026-31429 actively exploited?
CVE-2026-31429 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 0% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the top 82.3% of all scored CVEs.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-31429?
CVE-2026-31429 has a CVSS v3 base score of 5.5 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2026-31429?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2026-31429, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

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