bpf: Reject untrusted allocated-object pointers

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-98037 records a Unknown severity vulnerability in bpf: Reject untrusted allocated-object pointers. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Sep 25, 2026Updated Sep 25, 2026Source checked Sep 25, 2026First seen by HOL Sep 25, 2026Material review Sep 25, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: Unknown severitySource severity not reported
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 2 mapped packages or products
Fix availability: Available

Why this deserves its current priority

A CVSS score is not reported in the current record. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
Linux/Linuxgeneric	>=1b12171533a9bb23cf6fba7262b479028b65e1e8 <092c2874dc1b2060fa77a465a971acd4fdf87683 \|\| >=1b12171533a9bb23cf6fba7262b479028b65e1e8 <135d542b97fa93e32c457d49d6e7b33ca7d05bae \|\| >=1b12171533a9bb23cf6fba7262b479028b65e1e8 <6b1f786ad85a0b63393b76f5e634deab1a73198c \|\| >=1b12171533a9bb23cf6fba7262b479028b65e1e8 <7441ee8276641bddaf1cba7bb75ef9c1458ceb3b	092c2874dc1b2060fa77a465a971acd4fdf87683, 135d542b97fa93e32c457d49d6e7b33ca7d05bae, 6b1f786ad85a0b63393b76f5e634deab1a73198c, 7441ee8276641bddaf1cba7bb75ef9c1458ceb3b
Linux/Linuxgeneric	6.8	Not reported

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for Linux/Linux, Linux/Linux.
Review the reported fix. Update Linux/Linux to 092c2874dc1b2060fa77a465a971acd4fdf87683 if you use the affected versions. Test the change in a non-production environment first.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Sep 25, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Sep 25, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Sep 25, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Reject untrusted allocated-object pointers When the final RCU read-side critical section ends, a local kptr is demoted to PTR_UNTRUSTED but retains MEM_ALLOC. The pointer may be NULL or may refer to an object whose lifetime is no longer protected. type_is_ptr_alloc_obj() nevertheless recognizes any PTR_TO_BTF_ID with MEM_ALLOC as a live allocated object. In particular, a refcount-only local kptr never carries NON_OWN_REF, so it still passes the bpf_refcount_acquire() argument check after RCU protection ends. The kfunc can then dereference NULL or stale memory. Make type_is_ptr_alloc_obj() reject PTR_UNTRUSTED pointers. Since type_is_non_owning_ref() is based on the same predicate, graph kfunc arguments obey the same live-object requirement. Fault-protected reads of the demoted pointer remain valid: writes are already rejected, and read fixups use bpf_may_fault_on_deref() rather than this predicate. [ kkd: Rewrote commit log ]

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.