HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2026-31656
HIGH

CVE-2026-31656

Published: April 24, 2026· Updated: Apr 27, 2026

7.8
CVSS v3.1
EPSS:0.02%probability of exploitation in 30 daysPercentile:6.8th

Official Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

drm/i915/gt: fix refcount underflow in intel_engine_park_heartbeat

A use-after-free / refcount underflow is possible when the heartbeat

worker and intel_engine_park_heartbeat() race to release the same

engine->heartbeat.systole request.

The heartbeat worker reads engine->heartbeat.systole and calls

i915_request_put() on it when the request is complete, but clears

the pointer in a separate, non-atomic step. Concurrently, a request

retirement on another CPU can drop the engine wakeref to zero, triggering

__engine_park() -> intel_engine_park_heartbeat(). If the heartbeat

timer is pending at that point, cancel_delayed_work() returns true and

intel_engine_park_heartbeat() reads the stale non-NULL systole pointer

and calls i915_request_put() on it again, causing a refcount underflow:

```

<4> [487.221889] Workqueue: i915-unordered engine_retire [i915]

<4> [487.222640] RIP: 0010:refcount_warn_saturate+0x68/0xb0

...

<4> [487.222707] Call Trace:

<4> [487.222711] <TASK>

<4> [487.222716] intel_engine_park_heartbeat.part.0+0x6f/0x80 [i915]

<4> [487.223115] intel_engine_park_heartbeat+0x25/0x40 [i915]

<4> [487.223566] __engine_park+0xb9/0x650 [i915]

<4> [487.223973] ____intel_wakeref_put_last+0x2e/0xb0 [i915]

<4> [487.224408] __intel_wakeref_put_last+0x72/0x90 [i915]

<4> [487.224797] intel_context_exit_engine+0x7c/0x80 [i915]

<4> [487.225238] intel_context_exit+0xf1/0x1b0 [i915]

<4> [487.225695] i915_request_retire.part.0+0x1b9/0x530 [i915]

<4> [487.226178] i915_request_retire+0x1c/0x40 [i915]

<4> [487.226625] engine_retire+0x122/0x180 [i915]

<4> [487.227037] process_one_work+0x239/0x760

<4> [487.227060] worker_thread+0x200/0x3f0

<4> [487.227068] ? __pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10

<4> [487.227075] kthread+0x10d/0x150

<4> [487.227083] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10

<4> [487.227092] ret_from_fork+0x3d4/0x480

<4> [487.227099] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10

<4> [487.227107] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30

<4> [487.227141] </TASK>

```

Fix this by replacing the non-atomic pointer read + separate clear with

xchg() in both racing paths. xchg() is a single indivisible hardware

instruction that atomically reads the old pointer and writes NULL. This

guarantees only one of the two concurrent callers obtains the non-NULL

pointer and performs the put, the other gets NULL and skips it.

(cherry picked from commit 13238dc0ee4f9ab8dafa2cca7295736191ae2f42)

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2026-31656 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.

Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 7.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.Low
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

Linux1 product
linux kernel
Source: NVD CPE · 3 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

All References (7)

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2026-31656
CVSS Score7.8 / 10
SeverityHIGH
CISA KEVNo
EPSS (30d)0.02%
Affected1 vendor
PublishedApr 24, 2026

Recommended Actions

  • Apply vendor patches immediately
  • Monitor CVE-2026-31656 in threat intel feeds
  • Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.