CVE-2026-31662: tipc: fix bc_ackers underflow on duplicate GRP_ACK_MSG

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-31662 is a high (CVSS 7.5) Integer Underflow (Wrap or Wraparound) vulnerability in linux. EPSS estimates a 0.39% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 33% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 24-04-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 19-10-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tipc: fix bc_ackers underflow on duplicate GRP_ACK_MSG The GRP_ACK_MSG handler in tipc_group_proto_rcv() currently decrements bc_ackers on every inbound group ACK, even when the same member has already acknowledged the current broadcast round. Because bc_ackers is a u16, a duplicate ACK received after the last legitimate ACK wraps the counter to 65535. Once wrapped, tipc_group_bc_cong() keeps reporting congestion and later group broadcasts on the affected socket stay blocked until the group is recreated. Fix this by ignoring duplicate or stale ACKs before touching bc_acked or bc_ackers. This makes repeated GRP_ACK_MSG handling idempotent and prevents the underflow path.

• CWE-191Integer Underflow (Wrap or Wraparound)The product subtracts one value from another, such that the result is less than the minimum allowable integer value, which produces a value that is not equal to the correct result.
• CWE-190Integer Overflow or WraparoundThe product performs a calculation that can produce an integer overflow or wraparound when the logic assumes that the resulting value will always be larger than the original value. This occurs when an integer value is incremented to a value that is too large to store in the associated representation. When this occurs, the value may become a very small or negative number.