# CVE-2026-31646: net: lan966x: fix page_pool error handling in lan966x_fdma_rx_alloc_page_pool()

> A missing error check in the lan966x network driver causes a kernel oops when page pool creation fails, leading to denial of service.

- **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:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-83639, BELL-CVE-2026-31646, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31646, GHSA-vv8c-r99f-f6q8, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-31646, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31646

## What is CVE-2026-31646?

CVE-2026-31646 is a medium-severity 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:

net: lan966x: fix page_pool error handling in lan966x_fdma_rx_alloc_page_pool()

page_pool_create() can return an ERR_PTR on failure. The return value
is used unconditionally in the loop that follows, passing the error
pointer through xdp_rxq_info_reg_mem_model() into page_pool_use_xdp_mem(),
which dereferences it, causing a kernel oops.

Add an IS_ERR check after page_pool_create() to return early on failure.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-31646?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-31646?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-31646 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-31646 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-2026-31646 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-31646 is a medium-severity 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-2026-31646 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-2026-31646/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31646/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-31646
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-31646
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-31646

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31646/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.