# CVE-2026-31616: usb: gadget: f_phonet: fix skb frags[] overflow in pn_rx_complete()

> A malicious USB host can trigger a heap buffer overflow in the Linux kernel Phonet gadget driver, potentially leading to code execution or system crash.

- **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:** 24 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 14 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-31616, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31616, GHSA-h96r-xqwg-w67w, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-31616, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-31616, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-31616, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-31616, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31616

## What is CVE-2026-31616?

CVE-2026-31616 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 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:

usb: gadget: f_phonet: fix skb frags[] overflow in pn_rx_complete()

A broken/bored/mean USB host can overflow the skb_shared_info->frags[]
array on a Linux gadget exposing a Phonet function by sending an
unbounded sequence of full-page OUT transfers.

pn_rx_complete() finalizes the skb only when req->actual < req->length,
where req->length is set to PAGE_SIZE by the gadget.  If the host always
sends exactly PAGE_SIZE bytes per transfer, fp->rx.skb will never be
reset and each completion will add another fragment via
skb_add_rx_frag().  Once nr_frags exceeds MAX_SKB_FRAGS (default 17),
subsequent frag stores overwrite memory adjacent to the shinfo on the
heap.

Drop the skb and account a length error when the frag limit is reached,
matching the fix applied in t7xx by commit f0813bcd2d9d ("net: wwan:
t7xx: fix potential skb->frags overflow in RX path").

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-31616?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-31616?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-31616 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-31616 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-2026-31616 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-31616 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 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-2026-31616 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-2026-31616/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31616/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-31616
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-31616
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-31616

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31616/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.