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CVE-2026-97420

Linux: bpf: NUL-terminate replaced sysctl value

Linux LinuxOperating systems
CVSS
NoneNot scored
ExploitationNo known exploitationNot in CISA KEV, which does not prove it is unexploitedCISA KEV
Exploit odds (EPSS)0.17%Chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 6% of CVEs. Scored 23 Oct 2026FIRST EPSS
Fixed in36d3e9f62dc2beb9299d3bb6f589cb9e07f773feAlso 31377675c3d75603d957c08e338a9ac27e9f6cd5, 76c14b10f50eb0afcc76e244562fa2d8c661e224 and 1 moreCVE List
Published24 Sep 2026Updated 3 Oct 2026CVE List

What fixes it

  • 36d3e9f62dc2beb9299d3bb6f589cb9e07f773feLinuxCVE List
  • 31377675c3d75603d957c08e338a9ac27e9f6cd5LinuxCVE List
  • 76c14b10f50eb0afcc76e244562fa2d8c661e224LinuxCVE List
  • 3b2814dd842a565fcf9cc370156e1ba9eae16239LinuxCVE List

A fixed version on one release line is not the upgrade target for every line. Check your exact version and any vendor backports.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

bpf: NUL-terminate replaced sysctl value

When writing to sysctls, proc_sys_call_handler() guarantees that the buffer passed to proc handlers is NUL-terminated. If bpf_sysctl_set_new_value() replaces the pending sysctl value, it can hand a replacement buffer directly to proc handlers. However, the helper currently copies only buf_len bytes into that buffer without appending a NUL terminator, leaving downstream parsers vulnerable to out-of-bounds access.

Fix this by appending a '\0' after the replaced value to restore the expected sysctl semantics. Since the helper already rejects buf_len greater than PAGE_SIZE - 1, there is always room for the extra byte.

Reproduced in a QEMU x86_64 guest booted with KASAN while exercising the sysctl replacement path with a cgroup/sysctl BPF program. The reproducer targets /proc/sys/net/core/flow_limit_cpu_bitmap, fills the original user write buffer with non-zero bytes, and overrides the sysctl value so the replacement buffer lacks a terminating NUL. Under that setup, the pre-fix kernel reported:

BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in strnchrnul+0x72/0x90 Read of size 1 at addr ffff88800de57000 by task repro_patch3/66 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 66 Comm: repro_patch3 Not tainted 7.1.0-rc3-00269-g8370ca1f87cc #6 PREEMPT(lazy) Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.15.0-1 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x68/0xa0 print_report+0xcb/0x5e0 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x21d/0x3f0 ? strnchrnul+0x72/0x90 ? strnchrnul+0x72/0x90 kasan_report+0xca/0x100 ? strnchrnul+0x72/0x90 strnchrnul+0x72/0x90 bitmap_parse+0x37/0x2e0 flow_limit_cpu_sysctl+0xc6/0x840 ? __pfx_flow_limit_cpu_sysctl+0x10/0x10 ? __kvmalloc_node_noprof+0x5ba/0x870 proc_sys_call_handler+0x31d/0x480 ? __pfx_proc_sys_call_handler+0x10/0x10 ? selinux_file_permission+0x39f/0x500 ? lock_is_held_type+0x9e/0x120 vfs_write+0x98e/0x1000 ... </TASK> The buggy address is located 0 bytes to the right of allocated 4096-byte region [ffff88800de56000, ffff88800de57000) With this fix applied, rerunning the same sysctl-targeted path yields no corresponding KASAN reports.

Text from CVE List

Affected versions 16

  • Linuxaffected: 32927393dc1ccd60fb2bdc05b9e8e88753761469 before bfcee1f79aaefa90679ad47690107fb7682724ecCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 32927393dc1ccd60fb2bdc05b9e8e88753761469 before c73e4a04eedc677fe91a736d7a5db45100adba5eCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 32927393dc1ccd60fb2bdc05b9e8e88753761469 before 36d3e9f62dc2beb9299d3bb6f589cb9e07f773feCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 32927393dc1ccd60fb2bdc05b9e8e88753761469 before 31377675c3d75603d957c08e338a9ac27e9f6cd5CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 32927393dc1ccd60fb2bdc05b9e8e88753761469 before 76c14b10f50eb0afcc76e244562fa2d8c661e224CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 32927393dc1ccd60fb2bdc05b9e8e88753761469 before 3b2814dd842a565fcf9cc370156e1ba9eae16239CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 32927393dc1ccd60fb2bdc05b9e8e88753761469 before a66e3b5bacf38d6ab29fa05a9754f7a114485605CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 5.8CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: all versions before 5.8CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 5.10.271 through 5.10.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 5.15.222 through 5.15.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.1.189 through 6.1.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.6.158 through 6.6.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.12.111 through 6.12.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.18.53 through 6.18.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 7.2CVE List

References 7