Linux Kernel up to 7.2.9/7.3-rc5 BPF bpf_jit_blind_insn integer overflow

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.9/7.3-rc5. Impacted is the function bpf_jit_blind_insn of the component BPF. Executing a manipulation can lead to integer overflow. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-98816. The attack can be launched remotely. No exploit exists. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.9/7.3-rc5. This vulnerability affects the function bpf_jit_blind_insn of the component BPF. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a integer overflow vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-190. The product performs a calculation that can produce an integer overflow or wraparound, when the logic assumes that the resulting value will always be larger than the original value. This can introduce other weaknesses when the calculation is used for resource management or execution control. As an impact it is known to affect availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Fix overflow of jump offset in constant blinding bpf_jit_blind_insn() rewrites 'if rX op imm goto off' into: AX = imm ^ rnd AX ^= rnd if rX op AX goto off and subtracts 2 from off when the jump is backward. off is s16, so -32767 and -32768 wrap and the jump goes 32767 insns forward, past the end of the prog. The jump is inside the patch, hence bpf_adj_branches() doesn't check it. The kernel crashes when such prog runs with bpf_jit_harden=2. Return -ERANGE in such case. bpf_jit_blind_constants() fails the same way when blinding of other insns moves a jump out of range.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-98816 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be initiated remotely. Additional levels of successful authentication are required for exploitation. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 10/18/2026).

Upgrading to version 7.2.10 or 7.3-rc6 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 443328237113ee0ea515e506497334d871dbc2aa/ad139384ecddb6f3e7e3c3c12765aafae0e39670 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5
• 7.2.6
• 7.2.7
• 7.2.8
• 7.2.9
• 7.3-rc1
• 7.3-rc2
• 7.3-rc3
• 7.3-rc4
• 7.3-rc5

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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