Vulnerability · Published Apr 22, 2026 · Assigned by Linux
CVE-2026-31437netfs: Fix NULL pointer dereference in netfs_unbuffered_write() on retry
Medium 5.5
In plain English
A medium-severity security flaw in Linux from Linux. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.1% (higher than 2% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfs: Fix NULL pointer dereference in netfs_unbuffered_write() on retry When a write subrequest is marked NETFS_SREQ_NEED_RETRY, the retry path in netfs_unbuffered_write() unconditionally calls stream->prepare_write() without checking if it is NULL. Filesystems such as 9P do not set the prepare_write operation, so stream->prepare_write remains NULL. When get_user_pages() fails with -EFAULT and the subrequest is flagged for retry, this results in a NULL pointer dereference at fs/netfs/direct_write.c:189. Fix this by mirroring the pattern already used in write_retry.c: if stream->prepare_write is NULL, skip renegotiation and directly reissue the subrequest via netfs_reissue_write(), which handles iterator reset, IN_PROGRESS flag, stats update and reissue internally.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:14 | linux | 6.19.11-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-allwinner-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-intel-iot-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-5.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.0 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.1 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.8 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oracle-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oracle-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-raspi-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-riscv | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-riscv-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437 |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 72d08d2839649d1c5efbe375751f4473fa4486af – before a4d1b4ba9754bac3efebd06f583a44a7af52c0ab0c29f6d63122a0168d67cb8ecde5b4cf7fe4acb0 – before 7a5482f5ce891decbf36f2e6fab1e9fc4a76a684a0b4c7a49137ed21279f354eb59f49ddae8dffc2 – before e9075e420a1eb3b52c60f3b95893a55e77419ce8 |
| Linux | Linux | 6.18.17 – before 6.18.216.19.7 – before 6.19.11 |