In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
bpf: NUL-terminate replaced sysctl value
When writing to sysctls, proc_sys_call_handler() guarantees that the
buffer passed to proc handlers is NUL-terminated. If
bpf_sysctl_set_new_value() replaces the pending sysctl value, it can
hand a replacement buffer directly to proc handlers. However, the
helper currently copies only buf_len bytes into that buffer without
appending a NUL terminator, leaving downstream parsers vulnerable to
out-of-bounds access.
Fix this by appending a '\0' after the replaced value to restore the
expected sysctl semantics. Since the helper already rejects buf_len
greater than PAGE_SIZE - 1, there is always room for the extra byte.
Reproduced in a QEMU x86_64 guest booted with KASAN while exercising
the sysctl replacement path with a cgroup/sysctl BPF program. The
reproducer targets `/proc/sys/net/core/flow_limit_cpu_bitmap`, fills
the original user write buffer with non-zero bytes, and overrides the
sysctl value so the replacement buffer lacks a terminating NUL. Under
that setup, the pre-fix kernel reported:
BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in strnchrnul+0x72/0x90
Read of size 1 at addr ffff88800de57000 by task repro_patch3/66
CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 66 Comm: repro_patch3 Not tainted 7.1.0-rc3-00269-g8370ca1f87cc #6 PREEMPT(lazy)
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.15.0-1 04/01/2014
Call Trace:
<TASK>
dump_stack_lvl+0x68/0xa0
print_report+0xcb/0x5e0
? __virt_addr_valid+0x21d/0x3f0
? strnchrnul+0x72/0x90
? strnchrnul+0x72/0x90
kasan_report+0xca/0x100
? strnchrnul+0x72/0x90
strnchrnul+0x72/0x90
bitmap_parse+0x37/0x2e0
flow_limit_cpu_sysctl+0xc6/0x840
? __pfx_flow_limit_cpu_sysctl+0x10/0x10
? __kvmalloc_node_noprof+0x5ba/0x870
proc_sys_call_handler+0x31d/0x480
? __pfx_proc_sys_call_handler+0x10/0x10
? selinux_file_permission+0x39f/0x500
? lock_is_held_type+0x9e/0x120
vfs_write+0x98e/0x1000
...
</TASK>
The buggy address is located 0 bytes to the right of
allocated 4096-byte region [ffff88800de56000, ffff88800de57000)
With this fix applied, rerunning the same sysctl-targeted path yields
no corresponding KASAN reports.
bpf: NUL-terminate replaced sysctl value
When writing to sysctls, proc_sys_call_handler() guarantees that the
buffer passed to proc handlers is NUL-terminated. If
bpf_sysctl_set_new_value() replaces the pending sysctl value, it can
hand a replacement buffer directly to proc handlers. However, the
helper currently copies only buf_len bytes into that buffer without
appending a NUL terminator, leaving downstream parsers vulnerable to
out-of-bounds access.
Fix this by appending a '\0' after the replaced value to restore the
expected sysctl semantics. Since the helper already rejects buf_len
greater than PAGE_SIZE - 1, there is always room for the extra byte.
Reproduced in a QEMU x86_64 guest booted with KASAN while exercising
the sysctl replacement path with a cgroup/sysctl BPF program. The
reproducer targets `/proc/sys/net/core/flow_limit_cpu_bitmap`, fills
the original user write buffer with non-zero bytes, and overrides the
sysctl value so the replacement buffer lacks a terminating NUL. Under
that setup, the pre-fix kernel reported:
BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in strnchrnul+0x72/0x90
Read of size 1 at addr ffff88800de57000 by task repro_patch3/66
CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 66 Comm: repro_patch3 Not tainted 7.1.0-rc3-00269-g8370ca1f87cc #6 PREEMPT(lazy)
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.15.0-1 04/01/2014
Call Trace:
<TASK>
dump_stack_lvl+0x68/0xa0
print_report+0xcb/0x5e0
? __virt_addr_valid+0x21d/0x3f0
? strnchrnul+0x72/0x90
? strnchrnul+0x72/0x90
kasan_report+0xca/0x100
? strnchrnul+0x72/0x90
strnchrnul+0x72/0x90
bitmap_parse+0x37/0x2e0
flow_limit_cpu_sysctl+0xc6/0x840
? __pfx_flow_limit_cpu_sysctl+0x10/0x10
? __kvmalloc_node_noprof+0x5ba/0x870
proc_sys_call_handler+0x31d/0x480
? __pfx_proc_sys_call_handler+0x10/0x10
? selinux_file_permission+0x39f/0x500
? lock_is_held_type+0x9e/0x120
vfs_write+0x98e/0x1000
...
</TASK>
The buggy address is located 0 bytes to the right of
allocated 4096-byte region [ffff88800de56000, ffff88800de57000)
With this fix applied, rerunning the same sysctl-targeted path yields
no corresponding KASAN reports.
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
|
||||||||||||||||||
| Linux | Linux | affected |
|
No data.
No data.
No data.
Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Thu, 24 Sep 2026 16:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: NUL-terminate replaced sysctl value When writing to sysctls, proc_sys_call_handler() guarantees that the buffer passed to proc handlers is NUL-terminated. If bpf_sysctl_set_new_value() replaces the pending sysctl value, it can hand a replacement buffer directly to proc handlers. However, the helper currently copies only buf_len bytes into that buffer without appending a NUL terminator, leaving downstream parsers vulnerable to out-of-bounds access. Fix this by appending a '\0' after the replaced value to restore the expected sysctl semantics. Since the helper already rejects buf_len greater than PAGE_SIZE - 1, there is always room for the extra byte. Reproduced in a QEMU x86_64 guest booted with KASAN while exercising the sysctl replacement path with a cgroup/sysctl BPF program. The reproducer targets `/proc/sys/net/core/flow_limit_cpu_bitmap`, fills the original user write buffer with non-zero bytes, and overrides the sysctl value so the replacement buffer lacks a terminating NUL. Under that setup, the pre-fix kernel reported: BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in strnchrnul+0x72/0x90 Read of size 1 at addr ffff88800de57000 by task repro_patch3/66 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 66 Comm: repro_patch3 Not tainted 7.1.0-rc3-00269-g8370ca1f87cc #6 PREEMPT(lazy) Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.15.0-1 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x68/0xa0 print_report+0xcb/0x5e0 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x21d/0x3f0 ? strnchrnul+0x72/0x90 ? strnchrnul+0x72/0x90 kasan_report+0xca/0x100 ? strnchrnul+0x72/0x90 strnchrnul+0x72/0x90 bitmap_parse+0x37/0x2e0 flow_limit_cpu_sysctl+0xc6/0x840 ? __pfx_flow_limit_cpu_sysctl+0x10/0x10 ? __kvmalloc_node_noprof+0x5ba/0x870 proc_sys_call_handler+0x31d/0x480 ? __pfx_proc_sys_call_handler+0x10/0x10 ? selinux_file_permission+0x39f/0x500 ? lock_is_held_type+0x9e/0x120 vfs_write+0x98e/0x1000 ... </TASK> The buggy address is located 0 bytes to the right of allocated 4096-byte region [ffff88800de56000, ffff88800de57000) With this fix applied, rerunning the same sysctl-targeted path yields no corresponding KASAN reports. | |
| Title | bpf: NUL-terminate replaced sysctl value | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
Projects
Sign in to view the affected projects.
MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-09-24T16:03:30.084Z
Reserved: 2026-09-24T14:53:16.868Z
Link: CVE-2026-97420
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-09-24T17:17:19.853
Modified: 2026-09-24T17:17:19.853
Link: CVE-2026-97420
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.