CVE-2026-31428

Local heap disclosure via uninitialized netlink padding

Published Apr 13, 2026 · Updated Apr 13, 2026

Information disclosure in the Linux Kernel allows local users to read stale heap bytes through NFLOG netlink messages. __build_packet_message() allocates aligned NFULA_PAYLOAD space but copies only data_len bytes, leaving one to three padding bytes uninitialized. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and a payload length not divisible by four; each affected attribute exposes only its stale padding bytes.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.13%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Information disclosure in the Linux Kernel allows local users to read stale heap bytes through NFLOG netlink messages. __build_packet_message() allocates aligned NFULA_PAYLOAD space but copies only data_len bytes, leaving one to three padding bytes uninitialized. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and a payload length not divisible by four; each affected attribute exposes only its stale padding bytes.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-31428
Published
Apr 13, 2026
Updated
Apr 13, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-908, T1005
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 13, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 13, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=2.6.24
  2. Affected versionversion=df6fb868d6118686805c2fa566e213a8f31c8e4f <52025ebaa29f4eb4ed8bf92ce83a68f24ab7fdf7
  3. Affected versionversion=df6fb868d6118686805c2fa566e213a8f31c8e4f <7eff72968161fb8ddb26113344de3b92fb7d7ef5
  4. Affected versionversion=df6fb868d6118686805c2fa566e213a8f31c8e4f <a2f6ff3444b663d6cfa63eadd61327a18592885a
  5. Affected versionversion=df6fb868d6118686805c2fa566e213a8f31c8e4f <a8365d1064ded323797c5e28e91070c52f44b76c
  6. Affected versionversion=df6fb868d6118686805c2fa566e213a8f31c8e4f <c9f6c51d36482805ac3ffadb9663fe775a13e926
  7. Affected versionversion=df6fb868d6118686805c2fa566e213a8f31c8e4f <fc961dd7272b5e4a462999635e44a4770d7f2482

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=2.6.24; version=df6fb868d6118686805c2fa566e213a8f31c8e4f <52025ebaa29f4eb4ed8bf92ce83a68f24ab7fdf7; version=df6fb868d6118686805c2fa566e213a8f31c8e4f <7eff72968161fb8ddb26113344de3b92fb7d7ef5; version=df6fb868d6118686805c2fa566e213a8f31c8e4f <a2f6ff3444b663d6cfa63eadd61327a18592885a; version=df6fb868d6118686805c2fa566e213a8f31c8e4f <a8365d1064ded323797c5e28e91070c52f44b76c; version=df6fb868d6118686805c2fa566e213a8f31c8e4f <c9f6c51d36482805ac3ffadb9663fe775a13e926; version=df6fb868d6118686805c2fa566e213a8f31c8e4f <fc961dd7272b5e4a462999635e44a4770d7f2482

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-908Use of Uninitialized Resource
T1005Data from Local System

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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