---
id: CVE-2026-98588
title: >-
  kernel: bpf, sockmap: Reject max_entries > INT_MAX in sock_map_alloc
  (CVE-2026-98588)
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Berkeley Packet Filter (BPF) subsystem.
  When allocating a socket map with an excessively large entry count, a signed
  integer overflow occurs during cleanup when the map is released. A local user
  with …
severity: medium
cvss: 4.1
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-124
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
  - enterprise_linux 8
  - enterprise_linux 9
  - openshift_container_platform 4
published: '2026-10-18'
updated: '2026-10-20'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-20T04:17:50+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98588.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98588.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98588'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2555024'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98588'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98588'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98588.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f4a73f49e256bd835368504462be3b57b03febff'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c56191af3a578b9cc265fa3bd5fc0752c59c1781'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/909f761868fda329dc69130ef9eb5b5795bcdf00'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cc70972ddbf0e3398f2f32624d31db78594d50d8'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cea597519b9ca6d691c98d92460ead8ece2a07af'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba7d627dbc67d62df2fa66d7b41e743c3ace0ec8'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/814a81c842bd88f6bd8a4ce550d560df071a5d03'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00211
epssPercentile: 0.11316
ingestedAt: '2026-10-18T15:45:12.252Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Berkeley Packet Filter (BPF) subsystem. When allocating a socket map with an excessively large entry count, a signed integer overflow occurs during cleanup when the map is released. A local user with permission to create BPF maps can trigger this issue to cause an out-of-bounds memory write, leading to kernel memory corruption or a Denial of Service (DoS) through a system crash.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · updated 2026-10-20 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98588.json)

**kernel: bpf, sockmap: Reject max_entries > INT_MAX in sock_map_alloc** — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-20.

Affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

## Remediation

Fix deferred