CVE-2026-74720

Privilege escalation via incomplete pointer-state propagation

Published Aug 22, 2026 · Updated Aug 25, 2026

Out-of-range pointer offset handling in affected Linux kernel releases from 4.16 allows local users to gain root privileges through BPF. The BPF verifier's adjust_ptr_min_max_vals() copies only pointer type and ID during scalar += pointer, losing frame and parent provenance. Exploitation requires CAP_BPF and CAP_PERFMON; the demonstrated result is chosen-address kernel read and write followed by UID/GID 0.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.13%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Out-of-range pointer offset handling in affected Linux kernel releases from 4.16 allows local users to gain root privileges through BPF. The BPF verifier's adjust_ptr_min_max_vals() copies only pointer type and ID during scalar += pointer, losing frame and parent provenance. Exploitation requires CAP_BPF and CAP_PERFMON; the demonstrated result is chosen-address kernel read and write followed by UID/GID 0.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-74720
Published
Aug 22, 2026
Updated
Aug 25, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-823, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 22, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 25, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=4.16
  2. Affected versionversion=f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941 <29c239f8dbec5ab33a61796724d189bddee6cd4b
  3. Affected versionversion=f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941 <8109c25e0c41f5f19a1c2380bb49c991a877494e
  4. Affected versionversion=f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941 <86b203aadc2930e0a4f9c6277b5b80ff3664c472
  5. Affected versionversion=f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941 <8cb23101a3fcc7432b451ea3d0f14a90711f4acf
  6. Affected versionversion=f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941 <a4c6f804b44c5c790269b25e0e61cf4e9f117c86
  7. Affected versionversion=f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941 <d1959028190a7649b926f5867a58de5fe221b23c
  8. Affected versionversion=f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941 <db6382ed3361bdd8129572a3423956cba1dae829
  9. Affected versionversion=f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941 <eaffa1495e4fe6330aeff9f323ea3d48b01f118a

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.16; version=f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941 <29c239f8dbec5ab33a61796724d189bddee6cd4b; version=f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941 <8109c25e0c41f5f19a1c2380bb49c991a877494e; version=f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941 <86b203aadc2930e0a4f9c6277b5b80ff3664c472; version=f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941 <8cb23101a3fcc7432b451ea3d0f14a90711f4acf; version=f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941 <a4c6f804b44c5c790269b25e0e61cf4e9f117c86; version=f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941 <d1959028190a7649b926f5867a58de5fe221b23c; version=f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941 <db6382ed3361bdd8129572a3423956cba1dae829; version=f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941 <eaffa1495e4fe6330aeff9f323ea3d48b01f118a

Published CVSS scores

7.8UbuntuCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
5.5Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-823Use of Out-of-range Pointer Offset
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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