Findings

CVE-2026-98085

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: backtrack_insn(): Handle ld_{abs,ind} subprog exit edge Nicholas Carlini reported a bug in pre…

Published Sep 25, 2026 · updated Oct 15, 2026

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: backtrack_insn(): Handle ld_{abs,ind} subprog exit edge Nicholas Carlini reported a bug in precision backtracking mechanism for BPF_LD | BPF_{IND,ABS} instructions. These instructions are modelled as two branches: - fallthrough; - implicit exit from current subprogram. The implicit exit case was not handled by the backtrack_insn() function. When backtracking such a path backtrack_insn() did not call bt_subprog_enter(), which meant that backtracking continued manipulating precision marks in a caller frame, while looking at instructions in a callee frame. This lead to segmentation faults during verification (see the selftest), or unsound state pruning.

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Sep 25, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Detected

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: backtrack_insn(): Handle ld_{abs,ind} subprog exit edge Nicholas Carlini reported a bug in precision backtracking mechanism for BPF_LD | BPF_{IND,ABS} instructions. These instructions are modelled as two branches: - fallthrough; - implicit exit from current subprogram. The implicit exit case was not handled by the backtrack_i

  2. Oct 15, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Updated

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: backtrack_insn(): Handle ld_{abs,ind} subprog exit edge Nicholas Carlini reported a bug in precision backtracking mechanism for BPF_LD | BPF_{IND,ABS} instructions. These instructions are modelled as two branches: - fallthrough; - implicit exit from current subprogram. The implicit exit case was not handled by the backtrack_i

Sources

  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2026-98085

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2026-98085

    30-day exploitation probability 0.2%

    first.org
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2026-98085

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: backtrack_insn(): Handle ld_{abs,ind} subprog exit edge Nicholas Carlini reported a bug in precision backtracking mechanism for BPF_LD | BPF_{IND,ABS} instructions. These instructions are modelled as two b

    nvd.nist.gov

References

CVE-2026-98085 · ZeroDay Findings