Local kernel crash via invalid BPF re-attachment
Published Feb 22, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's BPF tracing subsystem allows local users to crash the system with crafted link requests. In bpf_tracing_prog_attach, repeated link creation without target_fd leaves tgt_prog and attach_btf null, but btf_obj_id dereferences the missing state. Local users need permission to load BPF programs; the demonstrated result is a kernel crash with no reported data access or modification.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's BPF tracing subsystem allows local users to crash the system with crafted link requests. In bpf_tracing_prog_attach, repeated link creation without target_fd leaves tgt_prog and attach_btf null, but btf_obj_id dereferences the missing state. Local users need permission to load BPF programs; the demonstrated result is a kernel crash with no reported data access or modification.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-26591
- Published
- Feb 22, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 22, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=5.13
- Affected versionversion=f3a95075549e0e5c36db922caf86847db7a35403 <50ae82f080cf87e84828f066c31723b781d68f5b
- Affected versionversion=f3a95075549e0e5c36db922caf86847db7a35403 <6cc9c0af0aa06f781fa515a1734b1a4239dfd2c0
- Affected versionversion=f3a95075549e0e5c36db922caf86847db7a35403 <715d82ba636cb3629a6e18a33bb9dbe53f9936ee
- Affected versionversion=f3a95075549e0e5c36db922caf86847db7a35403 <8c8bcd45e9b10eef12321f08d2e5be33d615509c
- Affected versionversion=f3a95075549e0e5c36db922caf86847db7a35403 <a7b98aa10f895e2569403896f2d19b73b6c95653
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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