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HIGH

bpf Verifier Bypass

CVE-2026-45933

CVSS 7.8 / 10.0 NVD

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

KernelScan AI7.8HIGH

01

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Preserve id of register in sync_linked_regs() sync_linked_regs() copies the id of known_reg to reg when propagating bounds of known_reg to reg using the off of known_reg, but when known_reg was linked to reg like: known_reg = reg ; both known_reg and reg get same id known_reg += 4 ; known_reg gets off = 4, and its id gets BPF_ADD_CONST now when a call to sync_linked_regs() happens, let's say with the following: if known_reg >= 10 goto pc+2 known_reg's new bounds are propagated to reg but now reg gets BPF_ADD_CONST from the copy. This means if another link to reg is created like: another_reg = reg ; another_reg should get the id of reg but assign_scalar_id_before_mov() sees BPF_ADD_CONST on reg and assigns a new id to it. As reg has a new id now, known_reg's link to reg is broken. If we find new bounds for known_reg, they will not be propagated to reg. This can be seen in the selftest added in the next commit: 0: (85) call bpf_get_prandom_u32#7 ; R0=scalar() 1: (57) r0 &= 255 ; R0=scalar(smin=smin32=0,smax=umax=smax32=umax32=255,var_off=(0x0; 0xff)) 2: (bf) r1 = r0 ; R0=scalar(id=1,smin=smin32=0,smax=umax=smax32=umax32=255,var_off=(0x0; 0xff)) R1=scalar(id=1,smin=smin32=0,smax=umax=smax32=umax32=255,var_off=(0x0; 0xff)) 3: (07) r1 += 4 ; R1=scalar(id=1+4,smin=umin=smin32=umin32=4,smax=umax=smax32=umax32=259,var_off=(0x0; 0x1ff)) 4: (a5) if r1 < 0xa goto pc+4 ; R1=scalar(id=1+4,smin=umin=smin32=umin32=10,smax=umax=smax32=umax32=259,var_off=(0x0; 0x1ff)) 5: (bf) r2 = r0 ; R0=scalar(id=2,smin=umin=smin32=umin32=6,smax=umax=smax32=umax32=255) R2=scalar(id=2,smin=umin=smin32=umin32=6,smax=umax=smax32=umax32=255) 6: (a5) if r1 < 0xe goto pc+2 ; R1=scalar(id=1+4,smin=umin=smin32=umin32=14,smax=umax=smax32=umax32=259,var_off=(0x0; 0x1ff)) 7: (35) if r0 >= 0xa goto pc+1 ; R0=scalar(id=2,smin=umin=smin32=umin32=6,smax=umax=smax32=umax32=9,var_off=(0x0; 0xf)) 8: (37) r0 /= 0 div by zero When 4 is verified, r1's bounds are propagated to r0 but r0 also gets BPF_ADD_CONST (bug). When 5 is verified, r0 gets a new id (2) and its link with r1 is broken. After 6 we know r1 has bounds [14, 259] and therefore r0 should have bounds [10, 255], therefore the branch at 7 is always taken. But because r0's id was changed to 2, r1's new bounds are not propagated to r0. The verifier still thinks r0 has bounds [6, 255] before 7 and execution can reach div by zero. Fix this by preserving id in sync_linked_regs() like off and subreg_def.

02

Engine v0.2.0

Risk summary

Local attackers with BPF program loading privileges can bypass the BPF verifier's bounds checking, potentially leading to arbitrary kernel memory access. This affects systems that allow unprivileged BPF or run untrusted code with BPF capabilities.

Affectedkernel/bpf/verifier.c (BPF subsystem)

Vulnerability analysis

The vulnerability occurs in sync_linked_regs() where register ID tracking is corrupted during bounds propagation between linked registers. When the verifier propagates bounds from one register to another, it incorrectly copies the BPF_ADD_CONST flag, causing the target register to receive a new ID and breaking the link relationship. This allows crafted BPF programs to create scenarios where the verifier loses track of register relationships, leading to incorrect bounds analysis and potential out-of-bounds memory access. The fix preserves the original register ID during synchronization, maintaining proper link tracking.

03

BranchFixed inPatch commit
6.126.12.7558059335e465
6.186.18.1492a8cb1806ad
6.196.19.465d114b5270b
mainline7.0af9e89d8dd39