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CVE-2026-53036

bpf, arm64: Fix off-by-one in check_imm signed range check

7.8 EPSS 0.1% AV:L

Published 2026-06-24 (4 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem arch/arm64. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.

What to do, per Debian release

Debian's own status for CVE-2026-53036 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source

ReleaseStatus VersionWhat this means
Debian 12bookwormfixedDLA-4665-1 · 2026-07-03 · text6.1.176-1Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4665-1 shipped the fix on 2026-07-03, in 6.1.176-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian 13trixiefixed6.12.94-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.94-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian 14forkyfixed7.0.10-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.0.10-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian unstablesidfixed7.0.10-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.0.10-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.

The vulnerability

What the bug is

check_imm(bits, imm) is used in the arm64 BPF JIT to verify that a branch displacement (in arm64 instruction units) fits into the signed N-bit immediate field of a B, B.cond or CBZ/CBNZ encoding before it is handed to the encoder. The macro currently tests for (imm > 0 && imm >> bits) || (imm < 0 && ~imm >> bits) which admits values in [-2^N, 2^N) — effectively a signed (N+1)-bit range. A signed N-bit field only holds [-2^(N-1), 2^(N-1)), so the check admits one extra bit of range on each side. In particular, for check_imm19(), values in [2^18, 2^19) slip past the check but do not fit into the 19-bit signed imm19 field of B.cond. aarch64_insn_encode_immediate() then masks the raw value into the 19-bit field, setting bit 18 (the sign bit) and flipping a forward branch into a backward one. Same class of issue exists for check_imm26() and the B/BL encoding. Shift by (bits - 1) instead of bits so the actual signed N-bit range is enforced.

Where it lives

The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.

arch/arm64/net/bpf_jit_comp.c

What this is
BPF JIT for ARM64MAINTAINERS section matched on arch/arm64/net/ · bpf@vger.kernel.org · Supported

Check it on the machine

grep -w CONFIG_BPF_JIT /boot/config-$(uname -r)

Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.

Show whether Debian builds this, per release

Debian builds this, but not on every flavour. At least one release below builds the code on some of its kernel flavours and not on others, so the answer depends on the architecture and flavour installed.

  • bookwormy
  • trixie, forky, sidYnot built on s390x/s390x
y
built into the kernel image on every flavour - only a patch removes it
Y
built in where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
Build switch
CONFIG_BPF_JIT

From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages

Signals

Published
2026-06-24 (4 months ago)source
CVSS
7.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it
Attack vector
local (AV:L)source
EPSS
0.14%, higher than 2.9% of all CVEssource
CISA KEV
not listedthe KEV catalogue
Debian urgency
not yet assignedsource
Subsystem
arch/arm64

Upstream fixes

The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source

IntroducedFixed inCommit
3.186.1.175a5dfeb3b6106
3.186.6.1417fd3b41260c6
3.186.12.916927f0d6794a
3.186.18.331a113b549729
3.187.0.10fb74defa1cca
3.187.11dd8be4ec722

Debian advisories

AdvisoryDateShipped toDebian
DLA-4671-12026-07-05bullseye 6.1.176-1~deb11u1tracker
DLA-4665-12026-07-03bookworm 6.1.176-1tracker

Why the CNA scored it this way

Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source

AV:LAttack vector, local
The vulnerable arm64 BPF JIT code is reached by a local attacker through the bpf() syscall with BPF_PROG_LOAD, not by remote packets or adjacent/physical access.
AC:LAttack complexity, low
Triggering is deterministic once the attacker can load a suitably large BPF program on an arm64 kernel with BPF JIT enabled; there is no race or victim state dependency.
PR:LPrivileges required, low
The oversized program needed to hit the bad immediate range requires privileged BPF loading, but BPF tokens/namespaced delegation make this reachable with non-host-root delegated privileges in plausible deployments. Under the required uncertainty rule, PR:L is the higher-severity defensible choice over PR:H.
UI:NUser interaction, none
No victim action is required after the attacker submits and runs the crafted BPF program.
S:UScope, unchanged
The vulnerability affects kernel execution within the same host security authority and is a standard local kernel compromise path, not a VM/container boundary escape by itself.
C:HConfidentiality impact, high
The JIT can emit a verifier-unmodeled branch into attacker-shaped native BPF code, a BPF JIT verifier-bypass class issue that can plausibly yield arbitrary kernel memory read.
I:HIntegrity impact, high
The miscompiled branch can redirect execution through unintended JIT code paths, making arbitrary kernel code execution or write primitives defensible.
A:HAvailability impact, high
Even without full exploitation, the invalid native control flow can reliably crash or hang kernel execution when the malformed BPF program runs.