Critical CopyFail Vulnerability Discovered in Linux, Poses Risk to Enterprise Systems

Tue, 05 May 2026 08:53:00 +0200

A serious security flaw, dubbed 'CopyFail' and tracked as CVE-2026-31431, has been discovered in Linux kernel versions 7.0 and earlier, affecting nearly all modern Linux distributions. Security researchers have released exploit code publicly, allowing attackers to gain full administrative control over affected systems. While the patch was issued in late March, many Linux distributions have yet to apply it, leaving enterprise and individual systems vulnerable. CopyFail is particularly dangerous because it allows a regular user to escalate privileges to root, potentially compromising entire data centers, applications, and databases. The bug itself does not directly allow remote exploitation but can be combined with other vulnerabilities or malicious links to achieve full system access. It can also be weaponized through supply chain attacks. Federal cybersecurity agency CISA has mandated that all civilian federal agencies patch affected systems by May 15 to mitigate the risk. Popular Linu