Security research · CVE-2026-63809
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: use kvfree() for replaced sysctl write buffer proc_sys_call_handler() allocates its temporary…
Published Jul 19, 2026 · catalog updated Oct 22, 2026 · linux kernel
Check if you run it
No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2026-63809. EPSS is 0.15%. Act only if a listed version of linux kernel is installed.
Gaps on this record
- No vendor fix or required action is stored. Compare the linked advisory before you change production.
- Severity
- High7.8
- Known exploitation
- Not in CISA/VulnCheck KEV
- EPSS
- 0.15%
- Remediation
- Version ranges on file
- Affected products
- cpe linux/linux kernel
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: use kvfree() for replaced sysctl write buffer proc_sys_call_handler() allocates its temporary sysctl buffer with kvzalloc() and passes it to __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl(). Since kvzalloc() may fall back to vmalloc() for large allocations, freeing that buffer with kfree() is wrong and can corrupt memory. Use kvfree() to safely handle both kmalloc and kvzalloc()/vmalloc allocations. The bug was first flagged by an experimental analysis tool we are developing for kernel memory-management bugs while analyzing v6.13-rc1. The tool is still under development and is not yet publicly available. Manual inspection confirms that the bug is still present in v7.1-rc5. Reproduced the bug based on v7.1-rc4 in a QEMU x86_64 guest booted with KASAN and CONFIG_FAILSLAB enabled. To exercise the replacement path, the test tree also included the accompanying fix for the stale ret == 1 check in __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl(). The reproducer confines failslab injections to the proc_sys_call_handler() range, uses stacktrace-depth=32, and injects fail-nth=1 while writing 8191 bytes to /proc/sys/kernel/domainname from a task in the target cgroup. Under that setup, fail-nth=1 triggered the fault: BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffeb0200024d48 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 SMP KASAN NOPTI CPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 209 Comm: repro_proc_sys_ Not tainted 7.1.0-rc4-00686-g97625979a5d4 PREEMPT(lazy) Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.15.0-1 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:kfree+0x6e/0x510 ... Call Trace: ? __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl+0x626/0xc30 __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl+0x74d/0xc30 ? __pfx___cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl+0x10/0x10 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? __kvmalloc_node_noprof+0x345/0x870 ? proc_sys_call_handler+0x250/0x480 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f proc_sys_call_handler+0x3a2/0x480 ? __pfx_proc_sys_
Are you affected?
Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.
The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.
- cpe linux/linux kernel< 5.10.260
- cpe linux/linux kernel< 5.15.211
- cpe linux/linux kernel< 6.1.177
- cpe linux/linux kernel< 6.12.95
- cpe linux/linux kernel< 6.18.38
- cpe linux/linux kernel< 6.6.144
- cpe linux/linux kernel< 7.1.3
How to fix CVE-2026-63809
Recommended remediation
Affected version ranges suggest a fixed boundary. Verify against the vendor advisory for your release.
Official advisories
What to do
Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.
Should you patch?
No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2026-63809. EPSS is 0.15%. Act only if a listed version of linux kernel is installed.
Which versions are affected?
Compare what you have installed with linux/linux kernel < 5.10.260; linux/linux kernel < 5.15.211; linux/linux kernel < 6.1.177; linux/linux kernel < 6.12.95. Compare the installed version with the linked vendor advisory before you change production.
What should an analyst verify?
CWE-763; CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write. EPSS 0.15%. There is no CISA KEV listing. No Exploit-DB or Metasploit reference is linked. Use the source links for the original advisory.
Code
The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.
Timeline
Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.
Jul 19, 2026 · NIST NVD
Detected
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: use kvfree() for replaced sysctl write buffer proc_sys_call_handler() allocates its temporary sysctl buffer with kvzalloc() and passes it to __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl(). Since kvzalloc() may fall back to vmalloc() for large allocations, freeing that buffer with kfree() is wrong and can corrupt memory. Use kvfree() to saf
Oct 22, 2026 · NIST NVD
Updated
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: use kvfree() for replaced sysctl write buffer proc_sys_call_handler() allocates its temporary sysctl buffer with kvzalloc() and passes it to __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl(). Since kvzalloc() may fall back to vmalloc() for large allocations, freeing that buffer with kfree() is wrong and can corrupt memory. Use kvfree() to saf
Sources
- CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2026-63809
Official CVE identifier
cve.org - FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2026-63809
30-day exploitation probability 0.15%
first.org - NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2026-63809
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: use kvfree() for replaced sysctl write buffer proc_sys_call_handler() allocates its temporary sysctl buffer with kvzalloc() and passes it to __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_sysctl(). Since kvzalloc() may fall back
nvd.nist.gov
References
Freshness
Last verified in this catalog Oct 23, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.