# CVE-2026-31436: dmaengine: idxd: fix possible wrong descriptor completion in llist_abort_desc()

> A logic error in the Intel DSA driver causes wrong descriptor completion, leading to NULL pointer dereferences and potential system crashes.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-31436, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31436, GHSA-j9j9-688w-mvpv, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-31436, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-31436, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31436

## What is CVE-2026-31436?

CVE-2026-31436 is a critical vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 Apr 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

dmaengine: idxd: fix possible wrong descriptor completion in llist_abort_desc()

At the end of this function, d is the traversal cursor of flist, but the
code completes found instead. This can lead to issues such as NULL pointer
dereferences, double completion, or descriptor leaks.

Fix this by completing d instead of found in the final
list_for_each_entry_safe() loop.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference), CWE-758 (Reliance on Undefined, Unspecified, or Implementation-Defined Behavior)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-31436?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-31436?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-31436 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-31436 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-2026-31436 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-31436 is a critical vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 Apr 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-31436 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-2026-31436/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31436/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-31436
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-31436
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-31436

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31436/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.