bpf: Check load-acquire src ptr type before the load
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: 1 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: Check load-acquire src ptr type before the load check_atomic_load() calls check_load_mem() before atomic_ptr_type_ok(). For a load-acquire that fetches into its own source register (dst_reg == src_reg), check_load_mem() overwrites src_reg's type with the type of the loaded value, so the subsequent atomic_ptr_type_ok() no longer sees the source pointer and fails to reject the disallowed types (ctx, pkt, flow_keys, sock). Since bpf_convert_ctx_accesses() does not rewrite atomic loads, the raw access to the underlying kernel object is left in place. The destination type is taken from the ctx access itself, so a load-acquire of the sk field of struct __sk_buff for example leaves the register typed as PTR_TO_SOCK_COMMON_OR_NULL, which type_is_sk_pointer() does not match either, while it actually holds unconverted struct sk_buff bytes. Once the NULL check has passed this is a type confusion, not just a leak of kernel data. Validate src_reg with check_reg_arg() and check the source pointer type with atomic_ptr_type_ok() before the load again, mirroring check_atomic_rmw(). Out-of-range register numbers are already rejected earlier by check_and_resolve_insns() (commit 503d21ef8eac ("bpf: Do register range validation early")), and the only exemption there, is_stack_arg_ldx(), requires BPF_LDX | BPF_MEM | BPF_DW and thus never matches a BPF_ATOMIC insn. atomic_ptr_type_ok() can therefore not dereference register state out of bounds, that is, the out-of-bounds read addressed by the Fixes commit below does not reappear (as proven also via selftest).
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.18.52, 7.2.6, 7.3
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 |
Not affected: 6 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-90312
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-4gcp-c78x-x35m
- 2026-10-15 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-15 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
More Linux vulnerabilities
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- TI-2021-02452 Incorrect authorization in Ubuntu linux kernel 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
Sources
- CVE-2026-90312 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-90312 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-4gcp-c78x-x35m · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-90312 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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