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Critical

Integer underflow in Linux kernel stmmac jumbo_frm() chain mode

IdentifiersCVE-2026-31649CWE-191

CVE-2026-31649 is an integer underflow vulnerability in the Linux kernel's stmmac network driver, specifically in the jumbo_frm() chain-mode transmit path. The vulnerable code unconditionally computes len = nopaged_len - bmax, where nopaged_len is derived from skb_headlen(skb) and therefore reflects only the linear portion of the socket buffer, while the caller stmmac_xmit() decides whether to invoke jumbo_frm() based on skb->len, which includes page fragments. If a packet's total length exceeds bmax due to fragments but its linear portion is less than or equal to bmax, the subtraction underflows as an unsigned value and produces a very large len. This causes the subsequent while (len != 0) loop to iterate excessively and pass skb->data + bmax * i pointers far beyond the valid skb buffer into dma_map_single(). The fix introduces a local buf_len clamped to min(nopaged_len, bmax), making the subtraction safe and allowing page fragments to be handled later by the fragment loop in stmmac_xmit().

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation can cause arbitrary kernel memory to be mapped to the DMA engine. On typical stmmac deployments, especially IOMMU-less SoCs, this can result in kernel memory disclosure and potential memory corruption driven by hardware DMA. The bug may also cause severe instability due to the very large loop iteration count and out-of-bounds DMA mappings.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

If immediate patching is not possible, reduce exposure by avoiding vulnerable kernels on systems using the stmmac driver, especially on IOMMU-less SoCs. Where supported, enabling and correctly configuring an IOMMU may reduce the impact of erroneous DMA mappings. Limiting attacker ability to inject or transmit crafted jumbo/fragmented traffic through affected interfaces may also reduce exploitability, but no complete mitigation short of patching is provided in the available information.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply a Linux kernel update that includes the stmmac fix for CVE-2026-31649. The upstream remediation clamps the linear buffer length with a local buf_len = min(nopaged_len, bmax) and computes len = nopaged_len - buf_len, preventing the underflow and naturally skipping the loop when the linear portion fits in a single descriptor. Vendor kernel updates from SUSE and stable-tree backports include this fix.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

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VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

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VendorProductType
LinuxLinux Kerneloperating_system

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Associated malware

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Detection signatures

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Vendor-by-vendor mapping

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Social activity2

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