CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2026-31495 — Linux Linux Kernel security vulnerability

Medium CVSS 5.5

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: ctnetlink: use netlink policy range checks Replace manual range and mask validations with netlink policy annotations in ctnetlink code paths, so that the netlink core rejects invalid values early and can generate extack errors. - CTA_PROTOINFO_TCP_STATE: reject values > TCP_CONNTRACK_SYN_SENT2 at policy level, removing the manual >= TCP_CONNTRACK_MAX check. - CTA_PROTOINFO_TCP_WSCALE_ORIGINAL/REPLY: reject values > TCP_MAX_WSCALE (14). The normal TCP option parsing path already clamps to this value, but the ctnetlink path accepted 0-255, causing undefined behavior when used as a u32 shift count. - CTA_FILTER_ORIG_FLAGS/REPLY_FLAGS: use NLA_POLICY_MASK with CTA_FILTER_F_ALL, removing the manual mask checks. - CTA_EXPECT_FLAGS: use NLA_POLICY_MASK with NF_CT_EXPECT_MASK, adding a new mask define grouping all valid expect flags. Extracted from a broader nf-next patch by Florian Westphal, scoped to ctnetlink for the fixes tree.

Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.5 (3.1)
Published
2026-04-22
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
linux/kernel

Affected products

  • linux / linux_kernel
  • linux / linux_kernel / 2.6.22
  • linux / linux_kernel / 7.0

Showing 3 representative product identities from 15 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

General vulnerability remediation

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Confirm the affected component, deployment paths, reachable interfaces, and enabled features from inventories and configuration, without probing production destructively.
  • Compare the advisory's affected conditions with the repository lockfiles, build manifests, artifacts, and runtime inventory.
  • Identify data sensitivity, trust boundaries, and privilege level for every confirmed affected deployment.

Remediate safely

  • Apply a vendor-supported fix or remove the affected component or feature; record the selected change and its source in the repository.
  • Update direct and transitive dependency locks, generated artifacts, deployment manifests, and asset inventories together.
  • Add a regression test for the documented unsafe condition using inert inputs and preserve rollback instructions.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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