📄 Description (English)
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
RDMA/efa: Fix use of completion ctx after free
On admin queue completion handling, if the admin command completed with
error we print data from the completion context. The issue is that we
already freed the completion context in polling/interrupts handler which
means we print data from context in an unknown state (it might be
already used again).
Change the admin submission flow so alloc/dealloc of the context will be
symmetric and dealloc will be called after any potential use of the
context.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2026-31493 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's RDMA/EFA (Elastic Fabric Adapter) driver affecting admin queue completion handling. When admin commands complete with errors, the driver attempts to access a completion context that has already been freed, potentially leading to information disclosure or system instability. This vulnerability impacts systems using AWS EFA for high-performance computing and requires immediate kernel patching.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 29, 2026 13:27
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability primarily impacts Saudi organizations operating high-performance computing clusters and cloud infrastructure, particularly: (1) ARAMCO and energy sector research facilities using AWS EFA for seismic processing and simulation; (2) Government research institutions and KACST utilizing HPC for scientific computing; (3) Financial institutions (SAMA-regulated banks) running quantitative analysis and risk modeling on EFA-enabled infrastructure; (4) Telecommunications providers (STC, Mobily) using EFA for data center operations. The use-after-free could lead to kernel memory corruption, information disclosure of sensitive data, or denial of service affecting critical infrastructure.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Energy (ARAMCO, oil & gas research)
Government (KACST, research institutions)
Banking (SAMA-regulated institutions)
Telecommunications (STC, Mobily)
Cloud Infrastructure Providers
High-Performance Computing Centers
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
7.2
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Identify all systems running affected Linux kernel versions (5.12 through 7.0-rc7) with RDMA/EFA driver enabled
2. Check kernel version: uname -r
3. Verify EFA driver presence: lsmod | grep efa
PATCHING GUIDANCE:
1. Update to patched kernel versions (7.0 final release or later stable versions with backported fix)
2. For RHEL/CentOS: yum update kernel
3. For Ubuntu: apt update && apt upgrade linux-image-generic
4. For AWS instances: Use Systems Manager Patch Manager or manual kernel update
5. Schedule maintenance window and reboot systems after patching
COMPENSATING CONTROLS (if immediate patching not possible):
1. Disable EFA driver if not actively used: modprobe -r efa
2. Restrict admin queue operations to trusted processes only
3. Implement kernel module signing and verification
4. Monitor system logs for kernel panics or memory corruption errors
DETECTION RULES:
1. Monitor kernel logs for: "use-after-free", "KASAN", "UAF" messages
2. Track EFA driver error completions: grep -i "admin.*error" /var/log/kern.log
3. Alert on unexpected kernel crashes in efa_poll_admin_cq function
4. Monitor memory access violations in RDMA subsystem
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تحديد جميع الأنظمة التي تعمل بإصدارات نواة Linux المتأثرة (5.12 إلى 7.0-rc7) مع تفعيل برنامج تشغيل RDMA/EFA
2. التحقق من إصدار النواة: uname -r
3. التحقق من وجود برنامج تشغيل EFA: lsmod | grep efa
إرشادات التصحيح:
1. التحديث إلى إصدارات نواة مصححة (الإصدار النهائي 7.0 أو إصدارات مستقرة أحدث مع إصلاح مرجعي)
2. لـ RHEL/CentOS: yum update kernel
3. لـ Ubuntu: apt update && apt upgrade linux-image-generic
4. لمثيلات AWS: استخدم Systems Manager Patch Manager أو تحديث النواة اليدوي
5. جدولة نافذة صيانة وإعادة تشغيل الأنظمة بعد التصحيح
الضوابط البديلة (إذا لم يكن التصحيح الفوري ممكناً):
1. تعطيل برنامج تشغيل EFA إذا لم يكن قيد الاستخدام النشط: modprobe -r efa
2. تقييد عمليات قائمة المسؤول للعمليات الموثوقة فقط
3. تنفيذ التوقيع والتحقق من وحدة النواة
4. مراقبة سجلات النظام للأعطال أو أخطاء الذاكرة
قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة سجلات النواة: "use-after-free", "KASAN", "UAF"
2. تتبع إكمال خطأ برنامج تشغيل EFA: grep -i "admin.*error" /var/log/kern.log
3. تنبيه على أعطال النواة غير المتوقعة في دالة efa_poll_admin_cq
4. مراقبة انتهاكات الوصول إلى الذاكرة في نظام RDMA الفرعي
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.12.6.1 - Management of technical vulnerabilities
ECC 2024 A.14.2.1 - Secure development policy
ECC 2024 A.12.3.1 - Configuration management
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF ID.RA-1 - Asset Management and Vulnerability Management
SAMA CSF PR.IP-12 - System and Information Integrity
SAMA CSF DE.CM-8 - Vulnerability Scans
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.12.6.1 - Management of technical vulnerabilities
ISO 27001:2022 A.14.2.1 - Secure development, test and acceptance
ISO 27001:2022 A.12.3.1 - Configuration management
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
PCI DSS 6.2 - Security patches and updates
PCI DSS 11.2 - Vulnerability scanning
🔗 References & Sources 3
🔗
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0dd98aea1c0c45987fa2dd92f988b0eb1a72c125
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Patch
🔗
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1cf95fe5dc5471efea947b4c6f8913da6bc7976e
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Patch
🔗
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ef3b06742c8a201d0e83edc9a33a89a4fe3009f8
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Patch
📦 Affected Products / CPE 10 entries
linux:linux_kernel
linux:linux_kernel
linux:linux_kernel:5.12
linux:linux_kernel:7.0
linux:linux_kernel:7.0
linux:linux_kernel:7.0
linux:linux_kernel:7.0
linux:linux_kernel:7.0
linux:linux_kernel:7.0
linux:linux_kernel:7.0