Kernel compromise via premature BPF link deallocation
Published May 19, 2024 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Use-after-free in the BPF subsystem of Linux allows local users to compromise kernel integrity through concurrent link teardown. bpf_link_free() synchronously deallocates a multi-kprobe or multi-uprobe link after its reference count reaches zero while a running BPF program can still dereference the link and its cookie data. Reaching the race requires local bpf() access with CAP_BPF and CAP_PERFMON; successful triggering enables freed-memory reads, control-flow hijacking, or a kernel crash.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the BPF subsystem of Linux allows local users to compromise kernel integrity through concurrent link teardown. bpf_link_free() synchronously deallocates a multi-kprobe or multi-uprobe link after its reference count reaches zero while a running BPF program can still dereference the link and its cookie data. Reaching the race requires local bpf() access with CAP_BPF and CAP_PERFMON; successful triggering enables freed-memory reads, control-flow hijacking, or a kernel crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-35860
- Published
- May 19, 2024
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 19, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 5, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=0dcac272540613d41c05e89679e4ddb978b612f1 <1a80dbcb2dbaf6e4c216e62e30fa7d3daa8001ce
- Affected versionversion=0dcac272540613d41c05e89679e4ddb978b612f1 <5d8d447777564b35f67000e7838e7ccb64d525c8
- Affected versionversion=0dcac272540613d41c05e89679e4ddb978b612f1 <876941f533e7b47fc69977fc4551c02f2d18af97
- Affected versionversion=5.18
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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