System hard lockup via USB gadget race
Published May 1, 2026 · Updated May 1, 2026
Race condition in Linux Kernel USB gadget Ethernet code allows local users to hang the system by overlapping disconnect and stop operations. gether_disconnect() leaves dev->port_usb linked until teardown ends, so concurrent eth_stop() dereferences a cleared endpoint descriptor while holding dev->lock. Triggering requires local low-privileged access and precise timing; the NULL dereference strands the competing thread on the lock and hard-locks the system.
Summary
What happened
Race condition in Linux Kernel USB gadget Ethernet code allows local users to hang the system by overlapping disconnect and stop operations. gether_disconnect() leaves dev->port_usb linked until teardown ends, so concurrent eth_stop() dereferences a cleared endpoint descriptor while holding dev->lock. Triggering requires local low-privileged access and precise timing; the NULL dereference strands the competing thread on the lock and hard-locks the system.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-31728
- Published
- May 1, 2026
- Updated
- May 1, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-362, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 1, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 1, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=2.6.27
- Affected versionversion=2b3d942c4878084a37991a65e66512c02b8fa2ad <6ad77458637b78ec655e3da5f112c862e6690a9d
- Affected versionversion=2b3d942c4878084a37991a65e66512c02b8fa2ad <8ff689edfeceb5e3ec1623e09af2b2aa0f1098a8
- Affected versionversion=2b3d942c4878084a37991a65e66512c02b8fa2ad <a259ba0bce3b192c04334499690372a250f7d0b1
- Affected versionversion=2b3d942c4878084a37991a65e66512c02b8fa2ad <bbb09bb89ffa571475f66daca9482b974cd29d6a
- Affected versionversion=2b3d942c4878084a37991a65e66512c02b8fa2ad <e1e7a66584bf0aff3becb73c19fa31527889fc9e
- Affected versionversion=2b3d942c4878084a37991a65e66512c02b8fa2ad <e1eabb072c75681f78312c484ccfffb7430f206e
- Affected versionversion=2b3d942c4878084a37991a65e66512c02b8fa2ad <f02980594deef751e42133714aee25228f1494c6
- Affected versionversion=2b3d942c4878084a37991a65e66512c02b8fa2ad <f6813c2b2ae78def76b69e0f9d72f80e4a1c4aca
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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