Out-of-bounds read of rtt_min in Linux kernel BPF sock_ops
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
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- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 6 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
The Linux kernel from 4.16 contains an out-of-bounds read of the BPF sock_ops rtt_min field. A sockops program that reads rtt_min does not check the socket type, so on the connection request path it reads past the end of a request_sock and returns adjacent kernel memory. In one observed case the read returned the high half of a leaked kernel pointer.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-07
Description from the CNA
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Fix out-of-bounds read of rtt_min in sock_ops A sockops prog reading skops->rtt_min never checks the sk type: on the tcp_conn_request() path sock_ops->sk is a request_sock (non-full), and the ctx rewrite casts it to a tcp_sock (full) and reads rtt_min past the end of the request_sock, returning dirty adjacent memory. SEC("sockops") int prog(struct bpf_sock_ops *skops) { switch (skops->op) { case BPF_SOCK_OPS_RWND_INIT: leak = skops->rtt_min; /* reads the request_sock OOB */ ... } } For instance one such read returned rtt_min=0xffff8881, the high half of a leaked kernel pointer. Guarding that cast is exactly what SOCK_OPS_GET_FIELD() does -- it checks is_locked_tcp_sock and returns 0 when sock_ops->sk is not a locked full socket. Every other tcp_sock field in sock_ops goes through it; rtt_min is the only one open-coded, so it skips the check. Read rtt_min through SOCK_OPS_GET_FIELD() too. rtt_min is a bit special: it is a struct minmax and we only want the current min, so pass rtt_min.s[0].v. That is equivalent to the old hand-computed offset offsetof(struct tcp_sock, rtt_min) + sizeof_field(struct minmax_sample, t) (s[0] sits at rtt_min + 0 and .v at + sizeof(.t), i.e. what minmax_get() returns), so the loaded field is unchanged and only the full-sock guard is added. The two BUILD_BUG_ON()s that protected the hand-computed offset are no longer needed. Before patch: 0: r1 = *(u64 *)(r1 +0) ; r1 = skops->sk 1: r1 = *(u32 *)(r1 +2324) ; ((tcp_sock *)sk)->rtt_min.s[0].v After patch: 0: *(u64 *)(r1 +56) = r9 1: r9 = *(u8 *)(r1 +50) ; is_locked_tcp_sock 2: if r9 == 0 goto pc+4 ; not a locked full sock -> 0 3: r9 = *(u64 *)(r1 +56) 4: r1 = *(u64 *)(r1 +0) ; r1 = skops->sk 5: r1 = *(u32 *)(r1 +2324) ; rtt_min.s[0].v 6: goto pc+2 7: r9 = *(u64 *)(r1 +56) 8: r1 = 0
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
The Linux kernel is fixed in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9 and 7.3. Red Hat lists no fix for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, 9 and 10 and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 and 5 (plan: none available), and no fix is planned for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-07
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 7.3
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-18 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98643
- 2026-10-18 Alias added: GHSA-xg7q-jpqp-fc7g
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-22 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-22 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-11-07 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c796efa919f52f788c22c79d1f1b70321696b3d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fc9d0e6e9d86fbefe7b8fe6ee49f4cf102add79d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fd6bf2721933d8c90bc4ce57f3e204c9295e7e3f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a8a9becbac93a9f54f4d565f1f3005eb08a7912f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3a46f14e6cf375f3ca38f8f6e6524749e24ea0a8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6785313d4fac96afb21ef193610c1fa88b1a9e64
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cba54d142c43ec96d8c4d566f66439e8c0afded7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/75f8cf22463d82bb1fb0239a3d485fc8f4c8ef03
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Sources
- CVE-2026-98643 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98643 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-xg7q-jpqp-fc7g · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98643 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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