# CVE-2026-31501: net: ti: icssg-prueth: fix use-after-free of CPPI descriptor in RX path

> A use-after-free in the TI ICSSG PRUETH driver allows attackers to cause denial of service or execute code via crafted network packets.

- **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:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-31501, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31501, GHSA-6xxj-984x-2f74, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31501

## What is CVE-2026-31501?

CVE-2026-31501 is a critical use after free 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:

net: ti: icssg-prueth: fix use-after-free of CPPI descriptor in RX path

cppi5_hdesc_get_psdata() returns a pointer into the CPPI descriptor.
In both emac_rx_packet() and emac_rx_packet_zc(), the descriptor is
freed via k3_cppi_desc_pool_free() before the psdata pointer is used
by emac_rx_timestamp(), which dereferences psdata[0] and psdata[1].
This constitutes a use-after-free on every received packet that goes
through the timestamp path.

Defer the descriptor free until after all accesses through the psdata
pointer are complete. For emac_rx_packet(), move the free into the
requeue label so both early-exit and success paths free the descriptor
after all accesses are done. For emac_rx_packet_zc(), move the free to
the end of the loop body after emac_dispatch_skb_zc() (which calls
emac_rx_timestamp()) has returned.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-31501?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-31501?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-31501 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-31501 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-2026-31501 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-31501 is a critical use after free 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-2026-31501 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-2026-31501/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31501/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-31501
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-31501
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-31501

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31501/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.