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8.8
HIGH CVSS 3.1
CVE-2026-72111
bpf: Reset register bounds before narrowing retval range in check_mem_access()
Overview
Description

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.

Details
INFO

Published Date :

Aug. 15, 2026, 6:21 a.m.

Last Modified :

Aug. 17, 2026, 6:18 a.m.

Remotely Exploit :

No

Source :

416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Impact
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-72111 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Linux linux_kernel
: Total Affected Vendor : 1 | Products : 1
Scoring
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 3.1 HIGH 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Solution
Apply a reset to clear stale register bounds before narrowing the return value range.
  • Reset register state in the 'is_retval' path.
  • Clear stale bounds before narrowing the range.
  • Update the Linux kernel to the latest version.
  • Apply the patch addressing the BPF verifier issue.
References
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2026-72111.

URL Resource
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0993dc5fc619c0b25ab1310cb11d65e78351c0fe
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a55f9aecc08990940e70f0c7048a80850c5a16a
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5e0b273e0a62cc04ec338c7b502797c66c2ed42a
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bde92f65042ec14389782dd223f706bf6b59ce5d
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-72111 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-72111 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-72111 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

Results are limited to the first 20 news articles due to potential performance issues.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-72111 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • CVE Modified by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

    Aug. 17, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Changed Affected [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', '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'}], 'programFiles': ['kernel/bpf/verifier.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '6.12'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '6.12', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.12.103', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.12.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.18.40', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.18.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.2-rc1', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['kernel/bpf/verifier.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', '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'}], 'programFiles': ['kernel/bpf/verifier.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '6.12'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '6.12', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.12.103', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.12.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.18.40', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.18.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.2', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['kernel/bpf/verifier.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}]
  • New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

    Aug. 15, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Affected [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', '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'}], 'programFiles': ['kernel/bpf/verifier.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '6.12'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '6.12', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.12.103', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.12.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.18.40', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.18.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.2-rc1', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['kernel/bpf/verifier.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}]
    Added Description 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.
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0993dc5fc619c0b25ab1310cb11d65e78351c0fe
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a55f9aecc08990940e70f0c7048a80850c5a16a
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5e0b273e0a62cc04ec338c7b502797c66c2ed42a
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bde92f65042ec14389782dd223f706bf6b59ce5d
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
CVSS
Vulnerability Scoring Details
Base CVSS Score: 8.8
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