Local privilege escalation via BPF cookie mismatch
Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026
Improper BPF compatibility checking in Linux allows local users to corrupt kernel memory through crafted cgroup tail-call chains. kernel/bpf/core.c accepts a storage-less program's zero cookie as compatible even when that program can bridge an entry program to a storage-using callee. Loading and attaching the crafted programs requires local BPF privileges; the mismatched storage context enables out-of-bounds reads or writes, a kernel panic, or privilege escalation.
Summary
What happened
Improper BPF compatibility checking in Linux allows local users to corrupt kernel memory through crafted cgroup tail-call chains. kernel/bpf/core.c accepts a storage-less program's zero cookie as compatible even when that program can bridge an entry program to a storage-using callee. Loading and attaching the crafted programs requires local BPF privileges; the mismatched storage context enables out-of-bounds reads or writes, a kernel panic, or privilege escalation.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-74305
- Published
- Aug 15, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 15, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-358, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 15, 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=19341d5c59e8c7e8528e40f8663e99d67810473c
- Affected versionversion=41688d1fc5d163a6c2c0e95c0419e2cb31a44648 <9ca06849c4239aa2d580c54651f8588c51cb398b
- Affected versionversion=5.15.192 <5.15.212
- Affected versionversion=6.1.151 <6.1.178
- Affected versionversion=6.12.46 <6.12.97
- Affected versionversion=6.16.1 <6.17
- Affected versionversion=6.17
- Affected versionversion=6.6.105 <6.6.145
- Affected versionversion=66da7cee78590259b400e51a70622ccd41da7bb2 <1c762d28698483ce7c372091f34d86e4d4828652
- Affected versionversion=7acfa07c585e3d7a64654d38f0a5c762877d0b9b <eb73056ce2a6f101ddd3bdba89af6b24ebffff85
- Affected versionversion=abad3d0bad72a52137e0c350c59542d75ae4f513 <10627ddc0167aab5c1c390a10ef461e9937aba08
- Affected versionversion=abad3d0bad72a52137e0c350c59542d75ae4f513 <46fbafe3d2d569d828e8d24a7dbe1659f63685cf
- Affected versionversion=abad3d0bad72a52137e0c350c59542d75ae4f513 <cb22dc79528eb26a46d346c3118dbd6b14c70609
- Affected versionversion=c1c74584b9b4043c52e41fec415226e582d266a3 <87177497cca90bf4fcfb759eb898560eb5b46a10
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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