Linux kernel RISC-V patching fails on BPF JIT executable memory
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
- Fixed
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
The Linux kernel from 6.10 on RISC-V assumes BPF JIT memory in the vmalloc area is writable when CONFIG_STRICT_MODULE_RWX is disabled. That memory is read-only because BPF pack allocation sets it read-only unconditionally, so patch_map() returns an address that faults on write. The failed write leaves BPF programs un-JITed and triggers a kernel warning.
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: riscv: patch: fix handling of bpf-jit execmem addresses Commit 8718e5a3090b ("riscv: patch: skip fixmap mapping when kernel text is already writable") gated the core_kernel_text() branch of patch_map() on CONFIG_STRICT_KERNEL_RWX, and explicitly left the vmalloc branch unchanged. That branch has a separate problem. That branch only creates a temporary writable fixmap alias when CONFIG_STRICT_MODULE_RWX is enabled, and otherwise assumes the target is directly writable and returns the address unchanged. That assumption no longer holds: bpf_prog_pack_alloc calls set_memory_rox() on every pack unconditionally in alloc_new_pack(), independently of any CONFIG_STRICT_*_RWX option, so BPF text in the vmalloc area is read-only regardless of what CONFIG_STRICT_MODULE_RWX says. With CONFIG_STRICT_MODULE_RWX=n, patch_map() returns the read-only address directly, the subsequent copy_to_kernel_nofault() takes a page fault and returns -EFAULT. bpf_arch_text_copy() turns that into -EINVAL, which propagates through bpf_jit_binary_pack_finalize() to the WARN_ON() in bpf_int_jit_compile() and leaves the program un-JITed. Note that BPF cannot be fixed the way kprobes was in commit bdc46e507b59 ("riscv: mm: make EXECMEM_KPROBES writable without CONFIG_STRICT_MODULE_RWX"). EXECMEM_BPF is already PAGE_KERNEL, i.e. writable at allocation time; the read-only mapping is established afterwards by generic code in alloc_new_pack(), which arch code cannot influence. The only place this can be handled is patch_map(). This is the same problem that was fixed on arm64 by commit b1480ed230ac ("arm64: patching: fix handling of execmem addresses"), and the fix is the same: CONFIG_EXECMEM is what actually tracks whether the vmalloc area can hold executable memory that needs a temporary alias to be written. CONFIG_BPF_JIT, CONFIG_KPROBES and CONFIG_MODULES all select it. Note that this is not limited to CONFIG_MODULES=n. Unlike arm64, riscv selects CONFIG_ARCH_OPTIONAL_KERNEL_RWX, so CONFIG_STRICT_MODULE_RWX can be disabled with CONFIG_MODULES=y as well, and the bug is reachable in that configuration too. The !CONFIG_MMU build is unaffected: it has its own __patch_insn_set() and __patch_insn_write() implementations and never calls patch_map().
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
Upgrade the Linux kernel to 6.12.114, 6.18.58, 7.2.11 or 7.3.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-07
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.12.114, 6.18.58, 7.2.11, 7.3
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. 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
- 2026-10-26 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-99092
- 2026-10-27 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-27 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-27 Alias added: GHSA-m43v-97rg-mvc9
- 2026-10-29 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-11-07 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
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Sources
- CVE-2026-99092 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-99092 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-m43v-97rg-mvc9 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-99092 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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