Bug 2527868 (CVE-2026-80738)

Summary:	CVE-2026-80738 kernel: bpf: Check sk_state before sk_protocol in bpf_tcp_*_syncookie
Product:	[Other] Security Response	Reporter:	OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component:	vulnerability	Assignee:	Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status:	NEW ---	QA Contact:
Severity:	medium	Docs Contact:
Priority:	medium
Version:	unspecified	CC:	akhatavk, aos-team-art-private, asdas, dpaolell, jdelft, jupierce, lgarciaa, mbiarnes, ppalepu, ppostler, prdhamdh, rhel-process-autobot, sghai, sidsharm, suppawar, vlaad, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone:	---	Keywords:	Security
Target Release:	---
Hardware:	All
OS:	Linux
Whiteboard:
Fixed In Version:		Doc Type:	---
Doc Text:	A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's BPF (Berkeley Packet Filter) TCP syncookie handling. The `bpf_tcp_gen_syncookie` and `bpf_tcp_check_syncookie` functions do not properly validate socket states before accessing protocol-specific information. This oversight could allow an attacker to trigger an invalid memory access, potentially leading to information disclosure or a denial of service.	Story Points:	---
Clone Of:		Environment:
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Regression:	---	Mount Type:	---
Documentation:	---	CRM:
Verified Versions:		Category:	---
oVirt Team:	---	RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team:	---	Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-09-03 08:43:02 UTC

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

bpf: Check sk_state before sk_protocol in bpf_tcp_*_syncookie

bpf_tcp_gen_syncookie and bpf_tcp_check_syncookie accept a socket pointer
'sk' with argument type ARG_PTR_TO_BTF_ID_SOCK_COMMON. However, they access
sk->sk_protocol without validating whether 'sk' represents a full socket.

Fix this issue by checking sk->sk_state != TCP_LISTEN before inspecting
sk->sk_protocol in both bpf_tcp_gen_syncookie and bpf_tcp_check_syncookie.
Since mini-sockets are never in the TCP_LISTEN state, the condition
short-circuits and prevents dereferencing fullsock-specific fields.

Comment 1 Mauro Matteo Cascella 2026-09-04 10:39:45 UTC

Upstream advisory:
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-80738.mbox