Kernel CVE patch triggers VPS

Short summary

A kernel security patch (CVE-2026-31431) intended to fix network stack vulnerabilities unexpectedly triggered excessive swap usage and system slowdown on a VPS hosting Docker containers. Debugging revealed kcompactd memory compaction at 90% CPU caused by incompatibility with the algif_aead module. Rather than revert the security update, the author found an alternative kernel module for encryption that maintains security without triggering the memory management issue.

• •CVE-2026-31431 kernel patch caused memory management issues on VPS
• •kcompactd reached 90% CPU usage due to incompatible algif_aead module
• •Resolved by switching to alternative encryption module instead of reverting patch

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