# CVE-2026-31607: usbip: validate number_of_packets in usbip_pack_ret_submit()

> A malicious USB/IP server can trigger a heap out-of-bounds write in the Linux kernel, potentially leading to code execution or privilege escalation.

- **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:** 24 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-83642, BELL-CVE-2026-31607, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31607, GHSA-fcfj-3h7q-75mq, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-31607, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-31607, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-31607, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-31607, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-31607, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31607

## What is CVE-2026-31607?

CVE-2026-31607 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 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:

usbip: validate number_of_packets in usbip_pack_ret_submit()

When a USB/IP client receives a RET_SUBMIT response,
usbip_pack_ret_submit() unconditionally overwrites
urb->number_of_packets from the network PDU. This value is
subsequently used as the loop bound in usbip_recv_iso() and
usbip_pad_iso() to iterate over urb->iso_frame_desc[], a flexible
array whose size was fixed at URB allocation time based on the
*original* number_of_packets from the CMD_SUBMIT.

A malicious USB/IP server can set number_of_packets in the response
to a value larger than what was originally submitted, causing a heap
out-of-bounds write when usbip_recv_iso() writes to
urb->iso_frame_desc[i] beyond the allocated region.

KASAN confirmed this with kernel 7.0.0-rc5:

  BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in usbip_recv_iso+0x46a/0x640
  Write of size 4 at addr ffff888106351d40 by task vhci_rx/69

  The buggy address is located 0 bytes to the right of
   allocated 320-byte region [ffff888106351c00, ffff888106351d40)

The server side (stub_rx.c) and gadget side (vudc_rx.c) already
validate number_of_packets in the CMD_SUBMIT path since commits
c6688ef9f297 ("usbip: fix stub_rx: harden CMD_SUBMIT path to handle
malicious input") and b78d830f0049 ("usbip: fix vudc_rx: harden
CMD_SUBMIT path to handle malicious input"). The server side validates
against USBIP_MAX_ISO_PACKETS because no URB exists yet at that point.
On the client side we have the original URB, so we can use the tighter
bound: the response must not exceed the original number_of_packets.

This mirrors the existing validation of actual_length against
transfer_buffer_length in usbip_recv_xbuff(), which checks the
response value against the original allocation size.

Kelvin Mbogo's series ("usb: usbip: fix integer overflow in
usbip_recv_iso()", v2) hardens the receive-side functions themselves;
this patch complements that work by catching the bad value at its
source -- in usbip_pack_ret_submit() before the overwrite -- and
using the tighter per-URB allocation bound rather than the global
USBIP_MAX_ISO_PACKETS limit.

Fix this by checking rpdu->number_of_packets against
urb->number_of_packets in usbip_pack_ret_submit() before the
overwrite. On violation, clamp to zero so that usbip_recv_iso() and
usbip_pad_iso() safely return early.

Weakness: CWE-805 (Buffer Access with Incorrect Length Value), CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-31607?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-31607?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-31607 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-31607 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-2026-31607 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-31607 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 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-2026-31607 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-2026-31607/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31607/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-31607
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-31607
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-31607

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31607/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.