In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Require MEM_PERCPU for percpu kptr stores map_kptr_match_type() treats perm_flags as the set of register type flags that a kptr field permits

Overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

bpf: Require MEM_PERCPU for percpu kptr stores

map_kptr_match_type() treats perm_flags as the set of register type flags that a kptr field permits. Adding MEM_PERCPU to that set for BPF_KPTR_PERCPU does not require the source register to carry it, however. The subset test consequently accepts both a plain bpf_obj_new() allocation and a referenced kernel pointer into a __percpu_kptr map field.

Loads from the field are always marked MEM_PERCPU. Consumers then treat the stored value as the cookie returned by bpf_percpu_obj_new(): per-CPU pointer helpers relocate it, and map teardown selects the per-CPU free path. A plain allocation can therefore provide an arbitrary kernel read/write, while a kernel pointer can be relocated into an invalid address or sent through a missing destructor.

Require the source MEM_PERCPU flag to match the destination field kind. This preserves valid bpf_percpu_obj_new() stores and rejects both the program-BTF and kernel-BTF variants.

Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

Vendor advisories

• Red Hat VEX · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · updated 2026-10-05 · vex