bpf: use kvfree() for replaced sysctl write buffer
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-787 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: use kvfree() for replaced sysctl write buffer proc_sys_call_handler() allocates its temporary sysctl buffer with kvzalloc() and passes it to __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl(). Since kvzalloc() may fall back to vmalloc() for large allocations, freeing that buffer with kfree() is wrong and can corrupt memory. Use kvfree() to safely handle both kmalloc and kvzalloc()/vmalloc allocations. The bug was first flagged by an experimental analysis tool we are developing for kernel memory-management bugs while analyzing v6.13-rc1. The tool is still under development and is not yet publicly available. Manual inspection confirms that the bug is still present in v7.1-rc5. Reproduced the bug based on v7.1-rc4 in a QEMU x86_64 guest booted with KASAN and CONFIG_FAILSLAB enabled. To exercise the replacement path, the test tree also included the accompanying fix for the stale ret == 1 check in __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl(). The reproducer confines failslab injections to the proc_sys_call_handler() range, uses stacktrace-depth=32, and injects fail-nth=1 while writing 8191 bytes to /proc/sys/kernel/domainname from a task in the target cgroup. Under that setup, fail-nth=1 triggered the fault: BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffeb0200024d48 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 SMP KASAN NOPTI CPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 209 Comm: repro_proc_sys_ Not tainted 7.1.0-rc4-00686-g97625979a5d4 PREEMPT(lazy) Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.15.0-1 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:kfree+0x6e/0x510 ... Call Trace: <TASK> ? __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl+0x626/0xc30 __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl+0x74d/0xc30 ? __pfx___cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl+0x10/0x10 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? __kvmalloc_node_noprof+0x345/0x870 ? proc_sys_call_handler+0x250/0x480 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f proc_sys_call_handler+0x3a2/0x480 ? __pfx_proc_sys_call_handler+0x10/0x10 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? selinux_file_permission+0x39f/0x500 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? lock_is_held_type+0x9e/0x120 vfs_write+0x98e/0x1000 ... </TASK> With this fix applied on top of the same test setup, rerunning the reproducer with fail-nth=1 yields no corresponding Oops reports.
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 | 5.10.20 to before 5.10.260; 5.11.3 to before 5.12 | 5.10.260, 5.12 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 5.12 and later | 5.10.260, 5.15.211, 6.1.177, 6.6.144, 6.12.95, 6.18.38, 7.1.3, 7.2 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.10.20 to before 5.10.260; 5.11.3 to before 5.12 Fixed in 5.10.260, 5.12 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.12 and later Fixed in 5.10.260, 5.15.211, 6.1.177, 6.6.144, 6.12.95, 6.18.38, 7.1.3, 7.2 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.10.20 to before 5.10.260; 5.11.3 to before 5.15.211; 5.16 to before 6.1.177; 6.2 to before 6.6.144; 6.7 to before 6.12.95; 6.13 to before 6.18.38; 6.19 to before 7.1.3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.10.20 to before 5.10.260; 5.11.3 to before 5.15.211; 5.16 to before 6.1.177; 6.2 to before 6.6.144; 6.7 to before 6.12.95; 6.13 to before 6.18.38; 6.19 to before 7.1.3 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.260, 5.12
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.260, 5.15.211, 6.1.177, 6.6.144, 6.12.95, 6.18.38, 7.1.3, 7.2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-63809
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-vchv-wvp9-hcw9
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-19 Weakness changed · CISA ADP
- 2026-10-23 Weakness changed · NVD
- 2026-11-06 CVSS score changed · Red Hat
References
Patch 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d0a81ed5ff5d0f9c3f63a4f9e5a4642c363ecd3e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/77355ef7a9f6b0d2bdf65be3b37f2c1f365e20d2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e1d1e203a6000804c5d3b8a4aa4e52303c0c7ab2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/81fc9a13acae99966232f0e055eb2e445263b89a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/838fe9c28121777c59a9406710a68fcf77bb8017
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/65bd0c0afb0e1bf3287458e342429b069624f7d4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/70df4de46577fab5e25418f014583155a147c902
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4c21b5927d4364bfe7365f2700da5fea0ed0d004
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Sources
- CVE-2026-63809 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-63809 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-vchv-wvp9-hcw9 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-63809 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences