Linux Kernel up to 6.18.22/6.19.12 igb napi_synchronize infinite loop

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.22/6.19.12 and classified as critical. The affected element is the function napi_synchronize of the component igb. Executing a manipulation can lead to infinite loop. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-31691. No exploit is available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.22/6.19.12 and classified as critical. This vulnerability affects the function napi_synchronize of the component igb. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a infinite loop vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-835. The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop. As an impact it is known to affect availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: igb: remove napi_synchronize() in igb_down() When an AF_XDP zero-copy application terminates abruptly (e.g., kill -9), the XSK buffer pool is destroyed but NAPI polling continues. igb_clean_rx_irq_zc() repeatedly returns the full budget, preventing napi_complete_done() from clearing NAPI_STATE_SCHED. igb_down() calls napi_synchronize() before napi_disable() for each queue vector. napi_synchronize() spins waiting for NAPI_STATE_SCHED to clear, which never happens. igb_down() blocks indefinitely, the TX watchdog fires, and the TX queue remains permanently stalled. napi_disable() already handles this correctly: it sets NAPI_STATE_DISABLE. After a full-budget poll, __napi_poll() checks napi_disable_pending(). If set, it forces completion and clears NAPI_STATE_SCHED, breaking the loop that napi_synchronize() cannot. napi_synchronize() was added in commit 41f149a285da ("igb: Fix possible panic caused by Rx traffic arrival while interface is down"). napi_disable() provides stronger guarantees: it prevents further scheduling and waits for any active poll to exit. Other Intel drivers (ixgbe, ice, i40e) use napi_disable() without a preceding napi_synchronize() in their down paths. Remove redundant napi_synchronize() call and reorder napi_disable() before igb_set_queue_napi() so the queue-to-NAPI mapping is only cleared after polling has fully stopped.

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-31691 since 03/09/2026. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 310604 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-31691), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.18.23 or 6.19.13 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 4700471775746058c962ded6e659bf908fd76e13/27f5997686ee7fb7ac01be72b2010f168a3409fc/b1e067240379f950a0022208e0685f3465c211cb is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (310604). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.19.0
• 6.19.1
• 6.19.2
• 6.19.3
• 6.19.4
• 6.19.5
• 6.19.6
• 6.19.7
• 6.19.8
• 6.19.9
• 6.19.10
• 6.19.11
• 6.19.12

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Discussion