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.

Severity (CVSS NVD)5.5Medium
Exploit odds (30 days)0.1%top 98.1% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsnot in CISA KEV
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

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

EcosystemPackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian:14linux6.19.11-1DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-allwinner-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-intel-iot-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-5.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.0no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.1no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-raspi-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscvno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscvno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-31437

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
Linux Linux 72d08d2839649d1c5efbe375751f4473fa4486af – before a4d1b4ba9754bac3efebd06f583a44a7af52c0ab0c29f6d63122a0168d67cb8ecde5b4cf7fe4acb0 – before 7a5482f5ce891decbf36f2e6fab1e9fc4a76a684a0b4c7a49137ed21279f354eb59f49ddae8dffc2 – before e9075e420a1eb3b52c60f3b95893a55e77419ce8
Linux Linux 6.18.17 – before 6.18.216.19.7 – before 6.19.11

References