Medium 4.7Published May 1, 2026

CVE-2026-31728usb: gadget: u_ether: Fix race between gether_disconnect and eth_stop

Updated under an hour ago (Oct 27, 2026, 4:30 PM ET)

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Exploited in the last 30 days

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: gadget: u_ether: Fix race between gether_disconnect and eth_stop A race condition between gether_disconnect() and eth_stop() leads to a NULL pointer dereference. Specifically, if eth_stop() is triggered concurrently while gether_disconnect() is tearing down the endpoints, eth_stop() attempts to access the cleared endpoint descriptor, causing the following NPE: Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference Call trace: __dwc3_gadget_ep_enable+0x60/0x788 dwc3_gadget_ep_enable+0x70/0xe4 usb_ep_enable+0x60/0x15c eth_stop+0xb8/0x108 Because eth_stop() crashes while holding the dev->lock, the thread running gether_disconnect() fails to acquire the same lock and spins forever, resulting in a hardlockup: Core - Debugging Information for Hardlockup core(7) Call trace: queued_spin_lock_slowpath+0x94/0x488 _raw_spin_lock+0x64/0x6c gether_disconnect+0x19c/0x1e8 ncm_set_alt+0x68/0x1a0 composite_setup+0x6a0/0xc50 The root cause is that the clearing of dev->port_usb in gether_disconnect() is delayed until the end of the function. Move the clearing of dev->port_usb to the very beginning of gether_disconnect() while holding dev->lock. This cuts off the link immediately, ensuring eth_stop() will see dev->port_usb as NULL and safely bail out.

CVSS: 4.7 MEDIUM (v3.1, NVD)CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness (CWE): Not given
Known exploited: Not in CISA's KEV catalog
EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days): Not loaded for this CVE
Assigned by: Linux
NVD analysis: Analyzed
Record last updated: May 11, 2026
First seen by InfoSec Signals: Oct 9, 2026

Affected products

Affected products

Linux Linux linux:linux (from the name)	from 2b3d942c4878084a37991a65e66512c02b8fa2ad before f02980594deef751e42133714aee25228f1494c6; from 2b3d942c4878084a37991a65e66512c02b8fa2ad before e1e7a66584bf0aff3becb73c19fa31527889fc9e; from 2b3d942c4878084a37991a65e66512c02b8fa2ad before a259ba0bce3b192c04334499690372a250f7d0b1; from 2b3d942c4878084a37991a65e66512c02b8fa2ad before f6813c2b2ae78def76b69e0f9d72f80e4a1c4aca; from 2b3d942c4878084a37991a65e66512c02b8fa2ad before bbb09bb89ffa571475f66daca9482b974cd29d6a; from 2b3d942c4878084a37991a65e66512c02b8fa2ad before 6ad77458637b78ec655e3da5f112c862e6690a9d; from 2b3d942c4878084a37991a65e66512c02b8fa2ad before 8ff689edfeceb5e3ec1623e09af2b2aa0f1098a8; from 2b3d942c4878084a37991a65e66512c02b8fa2ad before e1eabb072c75681f78312c484ccfffb7430f206e	CNA record
linux linux_kernel linux:linux_kernel	from 2.6.27 before 5.10.253; from 5.11 before 5.15.203; from 5.16 before 6.1.169; from 6.2 before 6.6.134; from 6.7 before 6.12.81; from 6.13 before 6.18.22; from 6.19 before 6.19.12; 7.0; and 5 more ranges	NVD

References

References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f02980594deef751e42133714aee25228f1494c6	patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e1e7a66584bf0aff3becb73c19fa31527889fc9e	patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a259ba0bce3b192c04334499690372a250f7d0b1	patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f6813c2b2ae78def76b69e0f9d72f80e4a1c4aca	patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bbb09bb89ffa571475f66daca9482b974cd29d6a	patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6ad77458637b78ec655e3da5f112c862e6690a9d	patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8ff689edfeceb5e3ec1623e09af2b2aa0f1098a8	patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e1eabb072c75681f78312c484ccfffb7430f206e	patch

The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry

The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.