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Linux kernel TIPC bc_ackers underflow on duplicate GRP_ACK_MSG

IdentifiersCVE-2026-31662CWE-191· Integer Underflow (Wrap or…

CVE-2026-31662 is an availability-impacting flaw in the Linux kernel's TIPC group messaging logic. In the GRP_ACK_MSG handling path inside tipc_group_proto_rcv(), the bc_ackers counter is decremented for every inbound group ACK, even if the same member has already acknowledged the current broadcast round. Because bc_ackers is a u16, receipt of a duplicate ACK after the final legitimate ACK can cause the counter to underflow and wrap to 65535. After this wraparound, tipc_group_bc_cong() continues to report broadcast congestion, causing subsequent group broadcasts on the affected socket to remain blocked until the group is recreated. The fix makes ACK processing idempotent by ignoring duplicate or stale ACKs before updating bc_acked or bc_ackers.

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For your environment

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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 causes a persistent denial of service against TIPC group broadcast on the affected socket. Once bc_ackers wraps, the kernel continues to believe the socket is congested, preventing later group broadcasts from progressing until the group is torn down and recreated. Available information indicates no confidentiality or integrity impact; the primary effect is high availability loss.

Mitigation

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

If immediate patching is not possible, reduce exposure by disabling TIPC where it is not required, preventing untrusted systems from sending TIPC traffic, and restricting network reachability to TIPC-capable nodes through segmentation and filtering. Because the issue is network-reachable and affects availability, limiting access to TIPC group messaging paths is the most practical interim mitigation until patched kernels are deployed.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply a Linux kernel update that includes the TIPC fix for duplicate/stale GRP_ACK_MSG handling. The corrected code ignores duplicate or stale ACKs before modifying bc_acked or bc_ackers, preventing the u16 underflow and restoring idempotent ACK processing. Vendor-provided kernel updates from SUSE and other downstreams should be used where applicable.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

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VendorProductType
LinuxLinux Kerneloperating_system

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

6 sources tracked across advisories and community write-ups. News coverage will land here when it surfaces.

No news coverage yet. Advisories and community discussion only.

What this page doesn’t show

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Exposure mapping

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Threat actor evidence

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Associated malware

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Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity2

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.