Kernel memory corruption via below-base arena free
Published Sep 17, 2026 · Updated Sep 18, 2026
Memory corruption in Linux kernel 6.9 and later affected release lines allows local users with delegated BPF capabilities to corrupt kernel memory. bpf_arena_free_pages() masks a below-base scalar address to 32 bits, then upper-end clipping records a wrapped free-tree offset that a later allocation reuses outside the arena mapping. Exploitation requires CAP_BPF and CAP_PERFMON, including delegated BPF-token access, and can disclose or overwrite kernel memory or panic the host.
Summary
What happened
Memory corruption in Linux kernel 6.9 and later affected release lines allows local users with delegated BPF capabilities to corrupt kernel memory. bpf_arena_free_pages() masks a below-base scalar address to 32 bits, then upper-end clipping records a wrapped free-tree offset that a later allocation reuses outside the arena mapping. Exploitation requires CAP_BPF and CAP_PERFMON, including delegated BPF-token access, and can disclose or overwrite kernel memory or panic the host.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-93045
- Published
- Sep 17, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 18, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 17, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 18, 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=317460317a02a1af512697e6e964298dedd8a163 <8a08635656037aee9c12231ed384449c4ffb1a93
- Affected versionversion=317460317a02a1af512697e6e964298dedd8a163 <90453eaf8f14e7be0ab03983f2a93aeb6b990a58
- Affected versionversion=317460317a02a1af512697e6e964298dedd8a163 <a968dffa5ab3c74d2ebb3a6233bf8b843f0bfc20
- Affected versionversion=317460317a02a1af512697e6e964298dedd8a163 <b5a71cb2db6d84ac0042549dcec266b18429d41e
- Affected versionversion=6.9
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.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
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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