# CVE-2026-31424: netfilter: x_tables: restrict xt_check_match/xt_check_target extensions for NFPROTO_ARP

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel netfilter subsystem allows local attackers to cause a system crash via ARP packet processing.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 13 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-82697, BELL-CVE-2026-31424, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31424, GHSA-9r6p-6xq4-mrq9, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-31424, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-31424, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-31424, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-31424, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-31424, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31424

## What is CVE-2026-31424?

CVE-2026-31424 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 13 Apr 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

netfilter: x_tables: restrict xt_check_match/xt_check_target extensions for NFPROTO_ARP

Weiming Shi says:

xt_match and xt_target structs registered with NFPROTO_UNSPEC can be
loaded by any protocol family through nft_compat. When such a
match/target sets .hooks to restrict which hooks it may run on, the
bitmask uses NF_INET_* constants. This is only correct for families
whose hook layout matches NF_INET_*: IPv4, IPv6, INET, and bridge
all share the same five hooks (PRE_ROUTING ... POST_ROUTING).

ARP only has three hooks (IN=0, OUT=1, FORWARD=2) with different
semantics. Because NF_ARP_OUT == 1 == NF_INET_LOCAL_IN, the .hooks
validation silently passes for the wrong reasons, allowing matches to
run on ARP chains where the hook assumptions (e.g. state->in being
set on input hooks) do not hold. This leads to NULL pointer
dereferences; xt_devgroup is one concrete example:

 Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc0000000044: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN NOPTI
 KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000220-0x0000000000000227]
 RIP: 0010:devgroup_mt+0xff/0x350
 Call Trace:
  <TASK>
  nft_match_eval (net/netfilter/nft_compat.c:407)
  nft_do_chain (net/netfilter/nf_tables_core.c:285)
  nft_do_chain_arp (net/netfilter/nft_chain_filter.c:61)
  nf_hook_slow (net/netfilter/core.c:623)
  arp_xmit (net/ipv4/arp.c:666)
  </TASK>
 Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in interrupt

Fix it by restricting arptables to NFPROTO_ARP extensions only.
Note that arptables-legacy only supports:

- arpt_CLASSIFY
- arpt_mangle
- arpt_MARK

that provide explicit NFPROTO_ARP match/target declarations.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-31424?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-31424?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-31424 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-31424 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-31424 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-31424 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 13 Apr 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-31424 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31424/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31424/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-31424
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-31424
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-31424

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31424/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.