Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
bpf: Fix overloading of MEM_UNINIT's meaning
Lonial reported an issue in the BPF verifier where check_mem_size_reg()
has the following code:
if (!tnum_is_const(reg->var_off))
/* For unprivileged variable accesses, disable raw
* mode so that the program is required to
* initialize all the memory that the helper could
* just partially fill up.
*/
meta = NULL;
This means that writes are not checked when the register containing the
size of the passed buffer has not a fixed size. Through this bug, a BPF
program can write to a map which is marked as read-only, for example,
.rodata global maps.
The problem is that MEM_UNINIT's initial meaning that "the passed buffer
to the BPF helper does not need to be initialized" which was added back
in commit 435faee1aae9 ("bpf, verifier: add ARG_PTR_TO_RAW_STACK type")
got overloaded over time with "the passed buffer is being written to".
The problem however is that checks such as the above which were added later
via 06c1c049721a ("bpf: allow helpers access to variable memory") set meta
to NULL in order force the user to always initialize the passed buffer to
the helper. Due to the current double meaning of MEM_UNINIT, this bypasses
verifier write checks to the memory (not boundary checks though) and only
assumes the latter memory is read instead.
Fix this by reverting MEM_UNINIT back to its original meaning, and having
MEM_WRITE as an annotation to BPF helpers in order to then trigger the
BPF verifier checks for writing to memory.
Some notes: check_arg_pair_ok() ensures that for ARG_CONST_SIZE{,_OR_ZERO}
we can access fn->arg_type[arg - 1] since it must contain a preceding
ARG_PTR_TO_MEM. For check_mem_reg() the meta argument can be removed
altogether since we do check both BPF_READ and BPF_WRITE. Same for the
equivalent check_kfunc_mem_size_reg().
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.15.45 – < 5.16, 5.17.13 – < 5.18, 5.18.2 – < 5.19, 5.19 | 5.16 |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | linux | 6.11.6-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.11.6-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux | 6.1.128-1 | DSA-5860-1 |
| Debian 11 | linux-6.1 | 6.1.128-1~deb11u1 | DLA-4076-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Nvidia-BlueField 22.04 LTS | linux-bluefield | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux | 6.8.0-58.60 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-aws | 6.8.0-1027.29 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure | 6.8.0-1027.32 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-6.11 | 6.11.0-1012.12~24.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-nvidia | 6.8.0-1014.15 | USN-7468-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp | 6.8.0-1028.30 | USN-7450-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp-6.11 | 6.11.0-1011.11~24.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gke | 6.8.0-1023.27 | USN-7450-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gkeop | 6.8.0-1010.12 | USN-7450-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-ibm | 6.8.0-1024.24 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia | 6.8.0-1026.29 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-6.11 | 6.11.0-1007.7 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-lowlatency | 6.8.0-1026.29.1 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-tegra | 6.8.0-1008.8 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oem-6.11 | 6.11.0-1015.15 | USN-7310-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oem-6.8 | 6.8.0-1026.26 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oracle | 6.8.0-1024.25 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-raspi | 6.8.0-1028.32 | USN-7524-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +1 | 6.8.0-58.60.1 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-xilinx | 6.8.0-1017.18 | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux +49 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-aws-6.8 | 6.8.0-1027.29~22.04.1 | USN-7451-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-azure-6.8 | 6.8.0-1027.32~22.04.1 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-gcp-6.8 | 6.8.0-1028.30~22.04.1 | USN-7452-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-hwe-6.8 | 6.8.0-58.60~22.04.1 | USN-7449-2 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-ibm-6.8 | 6.8.0-1024.24~22.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-6.8 | 6.8.0-1026.29~22.04.1 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-oracle-6.8 | 6.8.0-1024.25~22.04.1 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv-6.8 +1 | 6.8.0-58.60.1~22.04.1 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +27 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +13 | No fix yet | — |
Show 7 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-raspi-realtime | 6.8.0-2023.24 | USN-7523-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime | 6.8.1-1020.21 | USN-7453-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 22.04 LTS | linux-realtime +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 22.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.8 | 6.8.1-1020.21~22.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-fips | 6.8.0-78.78+fips1 | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 22.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-preview 22.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | linux-aws-5.15 +10 | No fix yet | — |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | kernel-source | 6.11.8-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2024:14500-1 |
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | kernel-source-longterm | 6.12.11-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2025:14705-1 |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | kernel-livepatch-6.1.127-135.201 | 1.0-0.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2025-823 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf +14 | 6.1.127-135.201.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2025-823 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | kernel | 6.6.64.2-1 | — |
Advisories 20
- SSA-457936 SSA-457936: Vulnerabilities in the additional GNU/Linux subsystem of the SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518(F)-4 PN/DP MFP V3.1.7 Siemens ProductCERT · Nov 10, 2026
- USN-7449-1 linux, linux-aws, linux-azure, linux-azure-6.8, linux-ibm, linux-lowlatency, linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8, linux-nvidia, linux-nvidia-6.8, linux-nvidia-lowlatency, linux-oem-6.8, linux-oracle, linux-oracle-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7450-1 linux-gcp, linux-gke, linux-gkeop vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7468-1 linux-azure-nvidia vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7453-1 linux-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7451-1 linux-aws-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7524-1 linux-raspi vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7523-1 linux-raspi-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7310-1 linux-oem-6.11 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7452-1 linux-gcp-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7449-2 linux-hwe-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- ICSA-26-295-11 Siemens SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518(F)-4 PN/DP MFP CISA ICS & IT advisories · Oct 22, 2026
- SSA-019113 SSA-019113: Vulnerabilities in the additional GNU/Linux subsystem of the SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518(F)-4 PN/DP MFP V3.1.6 Siemens ProductCERT · Oct 13, 2026
- ICSA-26-209-04 Siemens SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518(F)-4 PN/DP MFP CISA ICS & IT advisories · Jul 28, 2026
- WID-SEC-2024-3367 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen ermöglichen Denial of Service BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Jul 13, 2026
- DSA-5860-1 linux - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DLA-4076-1 linux-6.1 - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2025:14705-1 kernel-devel-longterm-6.12.11-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:14500-1 kernel-devel-6.11.8-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- ALAS2023-2025-823 Important: kernel security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Mar 10, 2025