Slackware Patches "Copy Fail" Kernel Bug — CVE-2026-31431
Slackware has issued a kernel security update for CVE-2026-31431, the Copy Fail vulnerability disclosed April 29, 2026. It's an out-of-bounds write in the AEAD userspace crypto interface (AF_ALG) that lets any local user get a root shell via a setuid binary — the same 732-byte Python PoC works on essentially every Linux distro shipped since 2017.If you can't patch right away, Slackware ships the affected code as a module (
CONFIG_CRYPTO_USER_API_AEAD=m), so you can blacklist or remove it as a stopgap:echo "install algif_aead /bin/false" > /etc/modprobe.d/disable-algif.confFor most systems this breaks nothing —
rmmod algif_aead
AF_ALG is a userspace front-door to the kernel crypto API, and OpenSSL, SSH, dm-crypt, kTLS, and IPsec all bypass it.Patch and reboot when you can.
slackpkg update && slackpkg upgrade-all.Sources:
- http://www.slackware.com/security/viewer.php?l=slackware-security&y=2026&m=slackware-security.1267034
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-31431
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