data built 2026-10-19T13:16:53Z

Look up another CVE · open CVE-2026-98641 in the interactive tracker

CVE-2026-98641

bpf, arm64: set up the frame pointer for the exception callback

Published 2026-10-18 (today) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem arch/arm64. Debian urgency: unimportant.

What to do, per Debian release

Debian's own status for CVE-2026-98641 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 12bookwormnot affected6.1.190-1Nothing to do. bookworm never shipped the vulnerable code.
Debian 13trixiefixed6.12.113-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.113-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian 14forkyfixed7.2.9-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.9-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian unstablesidfixed7.2.9-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.9-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.

The vulnerability

What the bug is

A program acting as exception boundary saves all callee-saved registers, so build_prologue() takes the exception_cb path and never calls push_callee_regs(). That is the only place find_used_callee_regs() runs, and with it the only place ctx->fp_used is set, so the callback prologue does not emit the mov x25, sp that points BPF_REG_FP at the frame the callback runs on. x25 keeps whatever it held when bpf_throw() was called. If the throw came from a subprogram that uses its own BPF stack, that is the subprogram's frame pointer, and since the subprogram never returns it never restores x25 either. Stack accesses through BPF_REG_FP are rewritten to be stack pointer relative, so those still land in the callback's own frame. Materializing the register does not: a callback that passes the address of a local variable to a helper hands over an address in the dead subprogram's frame. That address is below the callback's stack pointer by then, and the helper's own call chain covers it, so the helper can write over its own return address. 0x1234 below is the value the helper was asked to store: pc : 0x1234 lr : 0x1234 Call trace: 0x1234 (P) bpf_test_run+0x188/0x3e0 bpf_prog_test_run_skb+0x47c/0x998 __sys_bpf+0xbdc/0xdd8 Kernel panic - not syncing: Oops: Fatal exception in interrupt Set ctx->fp_used on the exception callback path so that the existing code further down sets x25 from the stack pointer. The epilogue restores it from the main program's save area along with the other callee-saved registers, as it already does. x86 sets the frame pointer for the callback from the argument it is passed, and powerpc computes it from the stack pointer.

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
2026-10-18 (today)source
CVSS
no vector published, unrated
Attack vector
not published
EPSS
not scored
CISA KEV
not listedthe KEV catalogue
Debian urgency
unimportantsource
Subsystem
arch/arm64

Upstream fixes

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

IntroducedFixed inCommit
6.126.12.112ecdd770a9fc3
6.126.18.55b67b4c763f21
6.127.2.9d7cd5ebe1398
6.127.3ef1fb82f1218

Why the CNA scored it this way

The kernel CNA published no CVSS vector and no reasoning for CVE-2026-98641, which is why it is shown as unrated rather than given an invented score. 6,405 of the 20,413 CVEs here carry reasoning; this is not one of them.