CVE-2026-72111 (GCVE-0-2026-72111)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-08-15 05:52 – Updated: 2026-08-17 05:40
VLAI
Title
bpf: Reset register bounds before narrowing retval range in check_mem_access()
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Reset register bounds before narrowing retval range in check_mem_access() When the BPF verifier processes a context load of an LSM hook return value, it calls __mark_reg_s32_range() to narrow the register to the hook's valid range. However, __mark_reg_s32_range() intersects the new range with the register's existing bounds using max_t()/min_t() rather than replacing them. If the destination register carries stale bounds from a prior instruction (e.g. BPF_MOV64_IMM), the intersection can produce a range narrower than reality. The verifier then believes it knows the register's exact value, while at runtime the actual hook return value is loaded, creating a verifier/runtime mismatch that can be used to bypass BPF memory safety checks. The else branch already calls mark_reg_unknown() to reset register state before any narrowing. Apply the same reset in the is_retval path so stale bounds are cleared before __mark_reg_s32_range() intersects.
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version CPE status
Linux Linux Affected: 5d99e198be279045e6ecefe220f5c52f8ce9bfd5 , < bde92f65042ec14389782dd223f706bf6b59ce5d (git)
Affected: 5d99e198be279045e6ecefe220f5c52f8ce9bfd5 , < 0993dc5fc619c0b25ab1310cb11d65e78351c0fe (git)
Affected: 5d99e198be279045e6ecefe220f5c52f8ce9bfd5 , < 5a55f9aecc08990940e70f0c7048a80850c5a16a (git)
Affected: 5d99e198be279045e6ecefe220f5c52f8ce9bfd5 , < 5e0b273e0a62cc04ec338c7b502797c66c2ed42a (git)
Affected: 1050727d83e70449991c29dd1cf29fe936a63da3 (git)
Affected: 27ca3e20fe80be85a92b10064dfeb56cb2564b1c (git)
Affected: 6.10.13 , < 6.11 (semver)
Affected: 6.11.2 , < 6.12 (semver)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Linux Linux Affected: 6.12
Unaffected: 0 , < 6.12 (semver)
Unaffected: 6.12.103 , ≤ 6.12.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.18.40 , ≤ 6.18.* (semver)
Unaffected: 7.1.5 , ≤ 7.1.* (semver)
Unaffected: 7.2 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Show details on NVD website

{
  "containers": {
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "kernel/bpf/verifier.c"
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              "versionType": "git"
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            {
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              "version": "27ca3e20fe80be85a92b10064dfeb56cb2564b1c",
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              "versionType": "semver"
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              "status": "affected",
              "version": "6.11.2",
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        {
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          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
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          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
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              "version": "6.12"
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              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "semver"
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            {
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              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.12.103",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.18.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.18.40",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "7.1.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.1.5",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.2",
              "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "cpeApplicability": [
        {
          "nodes": [
            {
              "cpeMatch": [
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.12.103",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "6.12",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.18.40",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "6.12",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
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                {
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              "negate": false,
              "operator": "OR"
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      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nbpf: Reset register bounds before narrowing retval range in check_mem_access()\n\nWhen the BPF verifier processes a context load of an LSM hook return\nvalue, it calls __mark_reg_s32_range() to narrow the register to the\nhook\u0027s valid range. However, __mark_reg_s32_range() intersects the new\nrange with the register\u0027s existing bounds using max_t()/min_t() rather\nthan replacing them.\n\nIf the destination register carries stale bounds from a prior instruction\n(e.g. BPF_MOV64_IMM), the intersection can produce a range narrower than\nreality. The verifier then believes it knows the register\u0027s exact value,\nwhile at runtime the actual hook return value is loaded, creating a\nverifier/runtime mismatch that can be used to bypass BPF memory safety\nchecks.\n\nThe else branch already calls mark_reg_unknown() to reset register state\nbefore any narrowing. Apply the same reset in the is_retval path so\nstale bounds are cleared before __mark_reg_s32_range() intersects."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "cvssV3_1": {
            "baseScore": 8.8,
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H",
            "version": "3.1"
          },
          "scenarios": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "AV:L - The flaw is reached only through bpf(BPF_PROG_LOAD) during bpf_check()-\u003echeck_mem_access() when a BPF_LSM_MAC program loads the LSM hook return value from PTR_TO_CTX; per kernel CNA guidance BPF verifier issues are Local even if attached programs later run on file, socket, or network LSM hooks.\nAC:L - An attacker fully controls the BPF instruction sequence (e.g., BPF_MOV64_IMM to leave stale bounds, then a ctx retval load) and can deterministically force __mark_reg_s32_range() to intersect into an overly narrow range without races, special memory layout, or other uncontrollable conditions.\nPR:L - Loading BPF_PROG_TYPE_LSM programs requires CAP_BPF and CAP_PERFMON (is_perfmon_prog_type), both blocked for unprivileged users when kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled is set but obtainable inside user namespaces on typical CONFIG_BPF_LSM systems per kernel CNA BPF guidance.\nUI:N - No victim interaction is required; the attacker loads, verifies, and attaches their own malicious BPF LSM program and triggers the attached LSM hook with their own local syscalls or network operations.\nS:C - A container or user-namespace tenant with namespace-granted CAP_BPF can load a verifier-bypassing BPF LSM program whose runtime memory corruption executes in host kernel context on LSM hook firing, crossing the container-to-host security boundary on multi-tenant cloud and Android-style deployments.\nC:H - The verifier/runtime register-bounds mismatch lets unsafe BPF programs pass verification and perform out-of-bounds reads on ctx, stack, or map memory at runtime, a memory-corruption primitive that can be developed into arbitrary kernel memory disclosure.\nI:H - False exact-knowledge of the LSM return-value register enables verifier-approved pointer arithmetic and memory writes that are invalid at runtime, enabling out-of-bounds writes and control-flow hijacking toward arbitrary kernel code execution from BPF context.\nA:H - Running verifier-incorrect BPF LSM programs can trigger kernel oops or panic from corrupted memory accesses, and once attached the attacker can repeatedly invoke the hook to cause repeatable host-wide denial of service."
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-08-17T05:40:25.647Z",
        "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "shortName": "Linux"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bde92f65042ec14389782dd223f706bf6b59ce5d"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0993dc5fc619c0b25ab1310cb11d65e78351c0fe"
        },
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          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a55f9aecc08990940e70f0c7048a80850c5a16a"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5e0b273e0a62cc04ec338c7b502797c66c2ed42a"
        }
      ],
      "title": "bpf: Reset register bounds before narrowing retval range in check_mem_access()",
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  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
    "assignerShortName": "Linux",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-72111",
    "datePublished": "2026-08-15T05:52:52.538Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-08-09T03:40:39.906Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-08-17T05:40:25.647Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2",
  "vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
    "epss": {
      "cve": "CVE-2026-72111",
      "date": "2026-08-28",
      "epss": "0.00176",
      "percentile": "0.07209"
    },
    "nvd": "{\"cve\":{\"id\":\"CVE-2026-72111\",\"sourceIdentifier\":\"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67\",\"published\":\"2026-08-15T06:21:25.447\",\"lastModified\":\"2026-08-17T06:18:10.280\",\"vulnStatus\":\"Received\",\"cveTags\":[],\"descriptions\":[{\"lang\":\"en\",\"value\":\"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\\n\\nbpf: Reset register bounds before narrowing retval range in check_mem_access()\\n\\nWhen the BPF verifier processes a context load of an LSM hook return\\nvalue, it calls __mark_reg_s32_range() to narrow the register to the\\nhook\u0027s valid range. However, __mark_reg_s32_range() intersects the new\\nrange with the register\u0027s existing bounds using max_t()/min_t() rather\\nthan replacing them.\\n\\nIf the destination register carries stale bounds from a prior instruction\\n(e.g. BPF_MOV64_IMM), the intersection can produce a range narrower than\\nreality. The verifier then believes it knows the register\u0027s exact value,\\nwhile at runtime the actual hook return value is loaded, creating a\\nverifier/runtime mismatch that can be used to bypass BPF memory safety\\nchecks.\\n\\nThe else branch already calls mark_reg_unknown() to reset register state\\nbefore any narrowing. Apply the same reset in the is_retval path so\\nstale bounds are cleared before __mark_reg_s32_range() intersects.\"}],\"affected\":[{\"source\":\"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67\",\"affectedData\":[{\"vendor\":\"Linux\",\"product\":\"Linux\",\"defaultStatus\":\"unaffected\",\"programFiles\":[\"kernel/bpf/verifier.c\"],\"repo\":\"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git\",\"versions\":[{\"version\":\"5d99e198be279045e6ecefe220f5c52f8ce9bfd5\",\"lessThan\":\"bde92f65042ec14389782dd223f706bf6b59ce5d\",\"versionType\":\"git\",\"status\":\"affected\"},{\"version\":\"5d99e198be279045e6ecefe220f5c52f8ce9bfd5\",\"lessThan\":\"0993dc5fc619c0b25ab1310cb11d65e78351c0fe\",\"versionType\":\"git\",\"status\":\"affected\"},{\"version\":\"5d99e198be279045e6ecefe220f5c52f8ce9bfd5\",\"lessThan\":\"5a55f9aecc08990940e70f0c7048a80850c5a16a\",\"versionType\":\"git\",\"status\":\"affected\"},{\"version\":\"5d99e198be279045e6ecefe220f5c52f8ce9bfd5\",\"lessThan\":\"5e0b273e0a62cc04ec338c7b502797c66c2ed42a\",\"versionType\":\"git\",\"status\":\"affected\"},{\"version\":\"1050727d83e70449991c29dd1cf29fe936a63da3\",\"versionType\":\"git\",\"status\":\"affected\"},{\"version\":\"27ca3e20fe80be85a92b10064dfeb56cb2564b1c\",\"versionType\":\"git\",\"status\":\"affected\"},{\"version\":\"6.10.13\",\"lessThan\":\"6.11\",\"versionType\":\"semver\",\"status\":\"affected\"},{\"version\":\"6.11.2\",\"lessThan\":\"6.12\",\"versionType\":\"semver\",\"status\":\"affected\"}]},{\"vendor\":\"Linux\",\"product\":\"Linux\",\"defaultStatus\":\"affected\",\"programFiles\":[\"kernel/bpf/verifier.c\"],\"repo\":\"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git\",\"versions\":[{\"version\":\"6.12\",\"status\":\"affected\"},{\"version\":\"0\",\"lessThan\":\"6.12\",\"versionType\":\"semver\",\"status\":\"unaffected\"},{\"version\":\"6.12.103\",\"lessThanOrEqual\":\"6.12.*\",\"versionType\":\"semver\",\"status\":\"unaffected\"},{\"version\":\"6.18.40\",\"lessThanOrEqual\":\"6.18.*\",\"versionType\":\"semver\",\"status\":\"unaffected\"},{\"version\":\"7.1.5\",\"lessThanOrEqual\":\"7.1.*\",\"versionType\":\"semver\",\"status\":\"unaffected\"},{\"version\":\"7.2\",\"lessThanOrEqual\":\"*\",\"versionType\":\"original_commit_for_fix\",\"status\":\"unaffected\"}]}]}],\"metrics\":{\"cvssMetricV31\":[{\"source\":\"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67\",\"type\":\"Secondary\",\"cvssData\":{\"version\":\"3.1\",\"vectorString\":\"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H\",\"baseScore\":8.8,\"baseSeverity\":\"HIGH\",\"attackVector\":\"LOCAL\",\"attackComplexity\":\"LOW\",\"privilegesRequired\":\"LOW\",\"userInteraction\":\"NONE\",\"scope\":\"CHANGED\",\"confidentialityImpact\":\"HIGH\",\"integrityImpact\":\"HIGH\",\"availabilityImpact\":\"HIGH\"},\"exploitabilityScore\":2.0,\"impactScore\":6.0}]},\"references\":[{\"url\":\"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0993dc5fc619c0b25ab1310cb11d65e78351c0fe\",\"source\":\"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67\"},{\"url\":\"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a55f9aecc08990940e70f0c7048a80850c5a16a\",\"source\":\"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67\"},{\"url\":\"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5e0b273e0a62cc04ec338c7b502797c66c2ed42a\",\"source\":\"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67\"},{\"url\":\"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bde92f65042ec14389782dd223f706bf6b59ce5d\",\"source\":\"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67\"}]}}",
    "redhat_vex": {
      "aggregate_severity": "Moderate",
      "current_release_date": "2026-08-17T22:30:40+00:00",
      "cve": "CVE-2026-72111",
      "id": "CVE-2026-72111",
      "initial_release_date": "2026-08-15T00:00:00+00:00",
      "product_status:known_affected": "184",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "90",
      "source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
      "status": "final",
      "title": "kernel: bpf: Reset register bounds before narrowing retval range in check_mem_access()",
      "url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-72111.json",
      "version": "3"
    }
  }
}



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Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.

Sightings

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Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
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