Kernel-data disclosure and crash via misflagged BPF buffers
Published May 27, 2026 · Updated May 27, 2026
Out-of-bounds reads in the BPF verifier in affected Linux Kernel releases allow local users to disclose kernel data or crash the system. Several ARG_PTR_TO_MEM helper prototypes omit MEM_RDONLY or MEM_WRITE, so the verifier treats helper-modified buffers as unchanged and removes later reads. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and a BPF program that reaches an affected helper; impact is limited to disclosure or service interruption.
Summary
What happened
Out-of-bounds reads in the BPF verifier in affected Linux Kernel releases allow local users to disclose kernel data or crash the system. Several ARG_PTR_TO_MEM helper prototypes omit MEM_RDONLY or MEM_WRITE, so the verifier treats helper-modified buffers as unchanged and removes later reads. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and a BPF program that reaches an affected helper; impact is limited to disclosure or service interruption.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-45903
- Published
- May 27, 2026
- Updated
- May 27, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-125, T1499, T1005
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 27, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 27, 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=37cce22dbd51a3ef7f6c08c3fb5f1c5075a17fbb <802eef5afb1865bc5536a5302c068ba2215a1f72
- Affected versionversion=37cce22dbd51a3ef7f6c08c3fb5f1c5075a17fbb <aa319592892068bd960c1a1c07bd621085b0c63d
- Affected versionversion=37cce22dbd51a3ef7f6c08c3fb5f1c5075a17fbb <fdfe75161f6e8c41a7d3023fbb815b537107b806
- Affected versionversion=6.14
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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