High Threat Security Alert (A26-05-01): Vulnerability in Linux Kernel

Description:

A local privilege escalation vulnerability is found in the Linux kernel. A local unprivileged attacker may leverage the vulnerability to escalate its privilege on a vulnerable system.

Reports indicated that an elevation of privilege vulnerability (CVE-2026-31431) is being actively exploited in the wild. System administrators are advised to take immediate action to patch your affected systems to mitigate the elevated risk of cyber attacks.

Affected Systems:

• Linux kernel versions 4.14 through 5.10.254 (excluding 5.10.254)
• Linux kernel versions 5.11 through 5.15.204 (excluding 5.15.204)
• Linux kernel versions 5.16 through 6.1.170 (excluding 6.1.170)
• Linux kernel versions 6.2 through 6.6.137 (excluding 6.6.137)
• Linux kernel versions 6.7 through 6.12.85 (excluding 6.12.85)
• Linux kernel versions 6.13 through 6.18.22 (excluding 6.18.22)
• Linux kernel versions 6.19 through 6.19.12 (excluding 6.19.12)

Impact:

Successful exploitation of the vulnerability could lead to elevation of privilege on an affected system.

Recommendation:

System administrators of affected systems should follow the recommendations provided by the vendor and take immediate actions to mitigate the risk.

More Information:

• https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-31431
• https://www.hkcert.org/security-bulletin/linux-kernel-elevation-of-privilege-vulnerability_20260504
• https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2026-31431