CVE-2026-63809: Linux kernel · bpf: use kvfree() for replaced sysctl write buffer
Source GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High · fixed in e1d1e203a6000804c5d3b8a4aa4e52303c0c7ab2 : patch Linux kernel soon.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 12:55 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 4% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in e1d1e203a6000804c5d3b8a4aa4e52303c0c7ab2, d0a81ed5ff5d0f9c3f63a4f9e5a4642c363ecd3e, 77355ef7a9f6b0d2bdf65be3b37f2c1f365e20d2 +7
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 19 Jul 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel to replace kfree() with kvfree() for the affected sysctl write buffer deallocation. Users and administrators should apply the official kernel updates that include this fix. Patch status is not explicitly stated in the provided data; therefore, check the vendor's Linux kernel advisory or mainline kernel repositories for the fixed version and apply updates accordingly.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: use kvfree() for replaced sysctl write buffer proc_sys_call_handler() allocates its temporary sysctl buffer with kvzalloc() and passes it to __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl(). Since kvzalloc() may fall back to vmalloc() for large allocations, freeing that buffer with kfree() is wrong and can corrupt memory. Use kvfree() to safely handle both kmalloc and kvzalloc()/vmalloc allocations. The bug was first flagged by an experimental analysis tool we are developing for kernel memory-management bugs while analyzing v6.13-rc1. The tool is still under development and is not yet publicly available. Manual inspection confirms that the bug is still present in v7.1-rc5. Reproduced the bug based on v7.1-rc4 in a QEMU x86_64 guest booted with KASAN and CONFIG_FAILSLAB enabled. To exercise the replacement path, the test tree also included the accompanying fix for the stale ret == 1 check in __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl(). The reproducer confines failslab injections to the proc_sys_call_handler() range, uses stacktrace-depth=32, and injects fail-nth=1 while writing 8191 bytes to /proc/sys/kernel/domainname from a task in the target cgroup. Under that setup, fail-nth=1 triggered the fault: BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffeb0200024d48 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 SMP KASAN NOPTI CPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 209 Comm: repro_proc_sys_ Not tainted 7.1.0-rc4-00686-g97625979a5d4 PREEMPT(lazy) Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.15.0-1 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:kfree+0x6e/0x510 ... Call Trace: <TASK> ? __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl+0x626/0xc30 __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl+0x74d/0xc30 ? __pfx___cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl+0x10/0x10 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? __kvmalloc_node_noprof+0x345/0x870 ? proc_sys_call_handler+0x250/0x480 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f proc_sys_call_handler+0x3a2/0x480 ? __pfx_proc_sys_call_handler+0x10/0x10 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? selinux_file_permission+0x39f/0x500 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? lock_is_held_type+0x9e/0x120 vfs_write+0x98e/0x1000 ... </TASK> With this fix applied on top of the same test setup, rerunning the reproducer with fail-nth=1 yields no corresponding Oops reports.
References
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-63809 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/4c21b5927d4364bfe7365f2700da5fea0ed0d004 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/65bd0c0afb0e1bf3287458e342429b069624f7d4 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/70df4de46577fab5e25418f014583155a147c902 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/77355ef7a9f6b0d2bdf65be3b37f2c1f365e20d2 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/81fc9a13acae99966232f0e055eb2e445263b89a (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/838fe9c28121777c59a9406710a68fcf77bb8017 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/d0a81ed5ff5d0f9c3f63a4f9e5a4642c363ecd3e (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e1d1e203a6000804c5d3b8a4aa4e52303c0c7ab2 (opens in a new tab)