CVE-2026-31786

What it is

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Buffer overflow in drivers/xen/sys-hypervisor.c The build id returned by HYPERVISOR_xen_version(XENVER_build_id) is neither NUL terminated nor a string. The first causes a buffer overflow as sprintf in buildid_show will read and copy till it finds a NUL. 00000000 f4 91 51 f4 dd 38 9e 9d 65 47 52 eb 10 71 db 50 |..Q..8..eGR..q.P| 00000010 b9 a8 01 42 6f 2e 32 |...Bo.2| 00000017 So use a memcpy instead of sprintf to have the correct value: 00000000 f4 91 51 f4 dd 00 9e 9d 65 47 52 eb 10 71 db 50 |..Q.....eGR..q.P| 00000010 b9 a8 01 42 |...B| 00000014 (the above have a hack to embed a zero inside and check it's returned correctly). This is XSA-485 / CVE-2026-31786

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited locally on the machine with a low-privilege account. High risk of data exposure, data tampering, service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2026-04-30 11:16 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-10-19 20:17 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.2% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 7.8 HIGH (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2026-04-30 11:16 UTC

Last modified

2026-10-19 20:17 UTC

Exploit probability

0.2% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-787 · Out-of-bounds write

Record status

Modified

Affected

• Linux Kernel < 5.10.254
• Linux Kernel < 5.15.204
• Linux Kernel < 6.1.170
• Linux Kernel < 6.6.137
• Linux Kernel < 6.12.85
• Linux Kernel < 6.18.26
• Linux Kernel < 7.0.3
• Linux Kernel 7.1

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 7.8

Attack vector

Local

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2026-31786.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2026-31786. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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