{
    "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
    "dataVersion": "5.2",
    "cveMetadata": {
        "cveId": "CVE-2026-72426",
        "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "state": "PUBLISHED",
        "assignerShortName": "Linux",
        "dateReserved": "2026-08-09T03:40:39.928Z",
        "datePublished": "2026-08-15T05:56:43.575Z",
        "dateUpdated": "2026-08-17T05:44:06.105Z"
    },
    "containers": {
        "cna": {
            "providerMetadata": {
                "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
                "shortName": "Linux",
                "dateUpdated": "2026-08-17T05:44:06.105Z"
            },
            "descriptions": [
                {
                    "lang": "en",
                    "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nbpf: Preserve pointer spill metadata during half-slot cleanup\n\n__clean_func_state() cleans dead stack slots in 4-byte halves. When the\nhigh half of a STACK_SPILL slot is dead and the low half remains live,\ncleanup converts the live low half to STACK_MISC or STACK_ZERO and clears\nthe saved spilled_ptr metadata.\n\nThat conversion is safe only for scalar spills. For a pointer spill, this\nmetadata clear lets a later 32-bit fill from the still-live half avoid the\nnormal non-scalar register-fill check and be treated as an ordinary scalar\nstack read.\n\nLeave non-scalar spill slots intact in this half-live shape. This is\nconservative for pruning and preserves the existing\ncheck_stack_read_fixed_off() rejection path for partial fills from pointer\nspills."
                }
            ],
            "metrics": [
                {
                    "cvssV3_1": {
                        "version": "3.1",
                        "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
                        "baseScore": 8.4,
                        "baseSeverity": "HIGH"
                    },
                    "scenarios": [
                        {
                            "lang": "en",
                            "value": "AV:L - The flaw is reached only through the local bpf(BPF_PROG_LOAD) syscall during BPF verifier state pruning in bpf_is_state_visited()->clean_verifier_state()->__clean_func_state(), which is a local kernel interface per BPF CVSS guidance.\nAC:L - An attacker fully controls the crafted BPF bytecode, can spill a pointer, force verifier checkpoints (e.g., BPF_F_TEST_STATE_FREQ or branch pruning), and reliably trigger the half-slot cleanup path without races or external timing.\nPR:N - Exploitation occurs at BPF_PROG_LOAD via bpf(); on systems with kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled=0, unprivileged users can load socket-filter programs that trigger this verifier path without CAP_BPF or init-namespace root.\nUI:N - No victim interaction is required; the attacker loads and verifies their own malicious BPF program through the bpf() syscall.\nS:U - Impact is a BPF verifier bypass leading to kernel memory corruption and local privilege escalation within the same kernel security boundary, not a cross-authority escape such as VM guest-to-host.\nC:H - Cleared pointer spill metadata lets partial 32-bit fills bypass non-scalar register-fill checks, causing verifier/runtime type confusion that can be developed into arbitrary kernel memory disclosure primitives.\nI:H - Verifier-approved programs can treat pointer spill bytes as scalars and perform unsafe memory operations, enabling out-of-bounds writes and control-flow hijacking for arbitrary kernel code execution from BPF context.\nA:H - Executing verifier-incorrect BPF with confused pointer/scalar state can trigger kernel oops or panic, and the attacker can repeatedly load and run crafted programs to cause denial of service."
                        }
                    ]
                }
            ],
            "affected": [
                {
                    "product": "Linux",
                    "vendor": "Linux",
                    "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
                    "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
                    "programFiles": [
                        "kernel/bpf/states.c"
                    ],
                    "versions": [
                        {
                            "version": "be23266b4a08540aa43d8503a2ea10247c8daebe",
                            "lessThan": "0f9278b22cda6fd2525049930157b79b4036b4ef",
                            "status": "affected",
                            "versionType": "git"
                        },
                        {
                            "version": "be23266b4a08540aa43d8503a2ea10247c8daebe",
                            "lessThan": "3a354149bceacadbcf7d7b4766f5ef26a85892ab",
                            "status": "affected",
                            "versionType": "git"
                        }
                    ]
                },
                {
                    "product": "Linux",
                    "vendor": "Linux",
                    "defaultStatus": "affected",
                    "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
                    "programFiles": [
                        "kernel/bpf/states.c"
                    ],
                    "versions": [
                        {
                            "version": "7.1",
                            "status": "affected"
                        },
                        {
                            "version": "0",
                            "lessThan": "7.1",
                            "status": "unaffected",
                            "versionType": "semver"
                        },
                        {
                            "version": "7.1.5",
                            "lessThanOrEqual": "7.1.*",
                            "status": "unaffected",
                            "versionType": "semver"
                        },
                        {
                            "version": "7.2",
                            "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
                            "status": "unaffected",
                            "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
                        }
                    ]
                }
            ],
            "cpeApplicability": [
                {
                    "nodes": [
                        {
                            "operator": "OR",
                            "negate": false,
                            "cpeMatch": [
                                {
                                    "vulnerable": true,
                                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                                    "versionStartIncluding": "7.1",
                                    "versionEndExcluding": "7.1.5"
                                },
                                {
                                    "vulnerable": true,
                                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                                    "versionStartIncluding": "7.1",
                                    "versionEndExcluding": "7.2"
                                }
                            ]
                        }
                    ]
                }
            ],
            "references": [
                {
                    "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0f9278b22cda6fd2525049930157b79b4036b4ef"
                },
                {
                    "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3a354149bceacadbcf7d7b4766f5ef26a85892ab"
                }
            ],
            "title": "bpf: Preserve pointer spill metadata during half-slot cleanup",
            "x_generator": {
                "engine": "bippy-1.2.0"
            }
        }
    }
}