bpf: Don't infer non-NULL from a pointer with an unbounded offset
reg_not_null() decides that a register holds a non-NULL value by
looking at its type alone. For pointer types that allow arithmetic the
type only guarantees a non-NULL base, in case of an unbound offset
the runtime offset value might still add up to NULL.
Consider the followng program:
r6 = bpf_map_lookup_elem(map, &0); /* present */
if (r6 == 0) return 0;
r7 = bpf_map_lookup_elem(map, &1); /* absent, NULL at runtime */
r8 = r7;
r8 -= r6; /* pointer - pointer: unknown scalar, -r6 */
r8 <<= 1;
r8 >>= 1; /* any non-negative offset is accepted by */
/* check_reg_sane_offset_ptr() */
r6 += r8; /* verifier: map value; runtime: zero */
if (r7 != r6) return 0;
*(u8 *)(r7 + 0); /* r7 is inferred non-NULL, both are zero */
At runtime both registers are zero, the comparison is true and the
load faults with NULL pointer dereference.
Require the offset to be within +-BPF_MAX_VAR_OFF in reg_not_null().
Analysis
Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.
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 |
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| Linux | Linux | affected |
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No data.
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No data available yet.
No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.
Additional remediation guidance may be available on OpenCVE Cloud.
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Fri, 25 Sep 2026 10:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Don't infer non-NULL from a pointer with an unbounded offset reg_not_null() decides that a register holds a non-NULL value by looking at its type alone. For pointer types that allow arithmetic the type only guarantees a non-NULL base, in case of an unbound offset the runtime offset value might still add up to NULL. Consider the followng program: r6 = bpf_map_lookup_elem(map, &0); /* present */ if (r6 == 0) return 0; r7 = bpf_map_lookup_elem(map, &1); /* absent, NULL at runtime */ r8 = r7; r8 -= r6; /* pointer - pointer: unknown scalar, -r6 */ r8 <<= 1; r8 >>= 1; /* any non-negative offset is accepted by */ /* check_reg_sane_offset_ptr() */ r6 += r8; /* verifier: map value; runtime: zero */ if (r7 != r6) return 0; *(u8 *)(r7 + 0); /* r7 is inferred non-NULL, both are zero */ At runtime both registers are zero, the comparison is true and the load faults with NULL pointer dereference. Require the offset to be within +-BPF_MAX_VAR_OFF in reg_not_null(). | |
| Title | bpf: Don't infer non-NULL from a pointer with an unbounded offset | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-09-25T10:23:54.865Z
Reserved: 2026-09-25T10:19:56.071Z
Link: CVE-2026-98043
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-09-25T11:17:33.090
Modified: 2026-09-25T11:17:33.090
Link: CVE-2026-98043
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
No weakness.