CVE-2026-98647

What the bug is

When an access goes past the struct and the last member is a flexible array, btf_struct_walk() folds the offset back into a single element with (off - moff) % t->size, but never checks that the element type has a size. BTF takes an empty struct, so this in program BTF /* event could be empty */ struct event { #ifdef HAVE_TIMESTAMP __u64 ts; #endif }; struct batch { int nr; struct event events[]; }; divides by zero at prog load time. Getting there needs a PTR_TO_BTF_ID that is not MEM_ALLOC, e.g. a plain read of a local kptr stashed in a map from a sleepable program. Oops: divide error: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN PTI RIP: 0010:btf_struct_walk+0x53f/0x1570 Call Trace: <TASK> btf_struct_access+0x42a/0xcd0 check_ptr_to_btf_access+0x4dc/0x1160 check_mem_access+0x3a45/0x8740 check_load_mem+0x36a/0xd10 do_check_common+0x3ef0/0xb210 bpf_check+0x6d3b/0x8580 bpf_prog_load+0xf7c/0x2720 __sys_bpf+0xa83/0x3690 __x64_sys_bpf+0xc7/0x150 x64_sys_call+0x1f3f/0x27e0 do_syscall_64+0xe5/0x610 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e </TASK> Reject a zero-sized element type. The fixed array path in the same function already bails out on the same thing: btf_struct_walk() ... /* skip empty array */ if (moff == mtrue_end) continue; msize /= total_nelems;

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.

kernel/bpf/btf.c

What this is

BPF [GENERAL] (Safe Dynamic Programs and Tools)MAINTAINERS section matched on kernel/bpf/ · bpf@vger.kernel.org · Supported

Check it on the machine

grep -wE 'CONFIG_BPF|CONFIG_BPF_SYSCALL' /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 code. Every release below compiles the affected file into the kernels it ships.

• bookworm, trixie, forky, sidy

y

built into the kernel image on every flavour - only a patch removes it

Build switches

CONFIG_BPF, CONFIG_BPF_SYSCALL

Reads as

all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.

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

not yet assignedsource

Subsystem

kernel/bpf

Upstream fixes

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

Introduced	Fixed in	Commit
5.8	5.15.222	1ea3820937f8
5.8	6.1.189	172756f02663
5.8	6.6.158	934e9ba9f8d0
5.8	6.12.112	63af086cb5fa
5.8	6.18.55	8eb4cd72daad
5.8	7.2.9	b8fa56722e9c
5.8	7.3	b0b3dc665296