bpf: fix ktls panic with sockmap
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 10 fixed, 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: fix ktls panic with sockmap [ 2172.936997] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [ 2172.936999] kernel BUG at lib/iov_iter.c:629! ...... [ 2172.944996] PKRU: 55555554 [ 2172.945155] Call Trace: [ 2172.945299] <TASK> [ 2172.945428] ? die+0x36/0x90 [ 2172.945601] ? do_trap+0xdd/0x100 [ 2172.945795] ? iov_iter_revert+0x178/0x180 [ 2172.946031] ? iov_iter_revert+0x178/0x180 [ 2172.946267] ? do_error_trap+0x7d/0x110 [ 2172.946499] ? iov_iter_revert+0x178/0x180 [ 2172.946736] ? exc_invalid_op+0x50/0x70 [ 2172.946961] ? iov_iter_revert+0x178/0x180 [ 2172.947197] ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x1a/0x20 [ 2172.947446] ? iov_iter_revert+0x178/0x180 [ 2172.947683] ? iov_iter_revert+0x5c/0x180 [ 2172.947913] tls_sw_sendmsg_locked.isra.0+0x794/0x840 [ 2172.948206] tls_sw_sendmsg+0x52/0x80 [ 2172.948420] ? inet_sendmsg+0x1f/0x70 [ 2172.948634] __sys_sendto+0x1cd/0x200 [ 2172.948848] ? find_held_lock+0x2b/0x80 [ 2172.949072] ? syscall_trace_enter+0x140/0x270 [ 2172.949330] ? __lock_release.isra.0+0x5e/0x170 [ 2172.949595] ? find_held_lock+0x2b/0x80 [ 2172.949817] ? syscall_trace_enter+0x140/0x270 [ 2172.950211] ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0xda/0x190 [ 2172.950632] ? ktime_get_coarse_real_ts64+0xc2/0xd0 [ 2172.951036] __x64_sys_sendto+0x24/0x30 [ 2172.951382] do_syscall_64+0x90/0x170 ...... After calling bpf_exec_tx_verdict(), the size of msg_pl->sg may increase, e.g., when the BPF program executes bpf_msg_push_data(). If the BPF program sets cork_bytes and sg.size is smaller than cork_bytes, it will return -ENOSPC and attempt to roll back to the non-zero copy logic. However, during rollback, msg->msg_iter is reset, but since msg_pl->sg.size has been increased, subsequent executions will exceed the actual size of msg_iter. ''' iov_iter_revert(&msg->msg_iter, msg_pl->sg.size - orig_size); ''' The changes in this commit are based on the following considerations: 1. When cork_bytes is set, rolling back to non-zero copy logic is pointless and can directly go to zero-copy logic. 2. We can not calculate the correct number of bytes to revert msg_iter. Assume the original data is "abcdefgh" (8 bytes), and after 3 pushes by the BPF program, it becomes 11-byte data: "abc?de?fgh?". Then, we set cork_bytes to 6, which means the first 6 bytes have been processed, and the remaining 5 bytes "?fgh?" will be cached until the length meets the cork_bytes requirement. However, some data in "?fgh?" is not within 'sg->msg_iter' (but in msg_pl instead), especially the data "?" we pushed. So it doesn't seem as simple as just reverting through an offset of msg_iter. 3. For non-TLS sockets in tcp_bpf_sendmsg, when a "cork" situation occurs, the user-space send() doesn't return an error, and the returned length is the same as the input length parameter, even if some data is cached. Additionally, I saw that the current non-zero-copy logic for handling corking is written as: ''' line 1177 else if (ret != -EAGAIN) { if (ret == -ENOSPC) ret = 0; goto send_end; ''' So it's ok to just return 'copied' without error when a "cork" situation occurs.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 4.20 and later | 6.1.142, 6.6.94, 6.12.34, 6.15.3, 6.16 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.20 and later Fixed in 6.1.142, 6.6.94, 6.12.34, 6.15.3, 6.16 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.142, 6.6.94, 6.12.34, 6.15.3, 6.16
Red Hat 2 advisories
- RHSA-2026:18587 Released 2026-05-19 · Red Hat rating Moderatekernel security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-687.5.1.el9_8, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-687.5.1.el9_8, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-687.5.1.el9_8 +12
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) kernel-5.14.0-687.5.1.el9_8, kernel-64k-5.14.0-687.5.1.el9_8, kernel-64k-core-5.14.0-687.5.1.el9_8 +28
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-687.5.1.el9_8, libperf-5.14.0-687.5.1.el9_8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-687.5.1.el9_8, kernel-rt-64k-5.14.0-687.5.1.el9_8, kernel-rt-64k-core-5.14.0-687.5.1.el9_8 +21
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-687.5.1.el9_8, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-687.5.1.el9_8, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-687.5.1.el9_8 +9
- RHSA-2026:18134 Released 2026-05-19 · Red Hat rating Moderatekernel security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) kernel-64k-debug-devel-6.12.0-211.7.1.el10_2, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-6.12.0-211.7.1.el10_2, kernel-64k-devel-6.12.0-211.7.1.el10_2 +12
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) kernel-6.12.0-211.7.1.el10_2, kernel-64k-6.12.0-211.7.1.el10_2, kernel-64k-core-6.12.0-211.7.1.el10_2 +29
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 10) kernel-tools-libs-devel-6.12.0-211.7.1.el10_2, libperf-6.12.0-211.7.1.el10_2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 10) kernel-rt-6.12.0-211.7.1.el10_2, kernel-rt-64k-6.12.0-211.7.1.el10_2, kernel-rt-64k-core-6.12.0-211.7.1.el10_2 +21
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 10) kernel-rt-6.12.0-211.7.1.el10_2, kernel-rt-core-6.12.0-211.7.1.el10_2, kernel-rt-debug-6.12.0-211.7.1.el10_2 +9
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:18134 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:18587 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:18134 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:18587 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:18134 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:18587 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:18134 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:18587 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:18134 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:18587 |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-38166
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-4grq-496q-c892
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/328cac3f9f8ae394748485e769a527518a9137c8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2e36a81d388ec9c3f78b6223f7eda2088cd40adb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/57fbbe29e86042bbaa31c1a30d2afa16c427e3f7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/603943f022a7fe5cc83ca7005faf34798fb7853f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/54a3ecaeeeae8176da8badbd7d72af1017032c39
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2025-38166 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-38166 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-4grq-496q-c892 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-38166 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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