CVE-2026-68462

bpf: Reject negative const offsets for buffer pointers

Published Aug 15, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 7.8 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

bpf: Reject negative const offsets for buffer pointers

The verifier rejects variable offsets for PTR_TO_TP_BUFFER and PTR_TO_BUF
accesses, but it currently accepts a constant negative offset produced by
pointer arithmetic.

Commit 022ac0750883 ("bpf: use reg->var_off instead of reg->off for
pointers") moved constant pointer offsets from reg->off to reg->var_off.
However, __check_buffer_access() continued to check only the instruction
offset. An access with reg->var_off equal to -8 and an instruction offset
of zero therefore passes verification.

For writable raw tracepoints, the access end is also calculated from the
unsigned reg->var_off.value. An eight-byte access starting at -8 wraps
the calculated end to zero, allowing the program to load and attach
without increasing max_tp_access.

After ensuring that reg->var_off is constant, calculate the effective
access start using signed arithmetic and reject it when it is negative.
Use the validated start to calculate the access end for both
PTR_TO_TP_BUFFER and PTR_TO_BUF.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories available
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-119
CWE-787
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Reject negative const offsets for buffer pointers The verifier rejects variable offsets for PTR_TO_TP_BUFFER and PTR_TO_BUF accesses, but it currently accepts a constant negative offset produced by pointer arithmetic. Commit 022ac0750883 ("bpf: use reg->var_off instead of reg->off for pointers") moved constant pointer offsets from reg->off to reg->var_off. However, __check_buffer_access() continued to check only the instruction offset. An access with reg->var_off equal to -8 and an instruction offset of zero therefore passes verification. For writable raw tracepoints, the access end is also calculated from the unsigned reg->var_off.value. An eight-byte access starting at -8 wraps the calculated end to zero, allowing the program to load and attach without increasing max_tp_access. After ensuring that reg->var_off is constant, calculate the effective access start using signed arithmetic and reject it when it is negative. Use the validated start to calculate the access end for both PTR_TO_TP_BUFFER and PTR_TO_BUF.
Title bpf: Reject negative const offsets for buffer pointers
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References
Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
Linux
Published
Updated
Aug 17, 2026, 5:39 AM
Reserved
Jul 30, 2026, 9:28 AM
Status
Received
Published
Aug 15, 2026, 6:18 AM
Modified
Aug 17, 2026, 6:17 AM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Aug 15, 2026, 12:00 AM