bpf: don't downgrade half-dead scalar zero spills to STACK_ZERO
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: don't downgrade half-dead scalar zero spills to STACK_ZERO states.c:__clean_func_state() can downgrade scalar zero spill to STACK_ZERO in the following case: *(u64 *)(r10 - 8) = 0; ... checkpoint ... r1 = *(u32 *)(r10 - 4); ... no reads from r10-8 ... Here 4 bytes at r10-8 are dead and verifier changes scalar spill to a combination: 0000pppp (p stands for poison). Such a change breaks precision propagation chains. All places that produce STACK_ZERO should call bpf_mark_chain_precision() for the zero source. This patch fixes the bug in a simplest way possible: avoids converting stack spills of zero to STACK_ZERO. Two smarter approaches are possible: - do bpf_mark_chain_precision() from __clean_func_state() - check slot liveness information in check_stack_write_fixed_off() I investigated both and the changes required are a bit tricky, hence go with a simple fix for the time being.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 7.1 and later | 7.2.7, 7.3 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 7.1 and later Fixed in 7.2.7, 7.3 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 7.2.7, 7.3
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 7 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- 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-2026-98132
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-6rp4-m24m-77pj
- 2026-10-09 CVSS score added · NVD
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
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-2026-98132 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98132 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-6rp4-m24m-77pj · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98132 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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