CVE-2026-98132

bpf: don't downgrade half-dead scalar zero spills to STACK_ZERO

MEDIUM
5.5
CVSS Score
Published: September 25, 2026 at 10:36 AM UTC
Updated: October 19, 2026 at 10:18 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorLinux Kernel

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Severity
MEDIUM5.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.1%

Description

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.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

7.1 ≤ v < 7.2.77.17.37.3 rc1be23266b4a08540aa43d8503a2ea10247c8daebe
Vendor states this is fixed in 2f3536bff8823d3c5fdbbe15e17bfca696cc2b2e (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 436fa689630b741a77ef8c4a6f426479affd5bac (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.1 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.2.7 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.3 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.3-rc2 (unaffected)

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

CVSS

Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
NVD-CWE-noinfo

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