CVE-2026-98643

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Fix out-of-bounds read of rtt_min in sock_ops A sockops prog reading skops->rtt_min never checks the sk type: on the tcp_conn_request() path sock_ops->sk is a request_sock (non-full), and the ctx rewrite casts it to a tcp_sock (full) and reads rtt_min past the end of the request_sock, returning dirty adjacent memory. SEC("sockops") int prog(struct bpf_sock_ops *skops) { switch (skops->op) { case BPF_SOCK_OPS_RWND_INIT: leak = skops->rtt_min; /* reads the request_sock OOB */ ... } } For instance one such read returned rtt_min=0xffff8881, the high half of a leaked kernel pointer. Guarding that cast is exactly what SOCK_OPS_GET_FIELD() does -- it checks is_locked_tcp_sock and returns 0 when sock_ops->sk is not a locked full socket. Every other tcp_sock field in sock_ops goes through it; rtt_min is the only one open-coded, so it skips the check. Read rtt_min through SOCK_OPS_GET_FIELD() too. rtt_min is a bit special: it is a struct minmax and we only want the current min, so pass rtt_min.s[0].v. That is equivalent to the old hand-computed offset offsetof(struct tcp_sock, rtt_min) + sizeof_field(struct minmax_sample, t) (s[0] sits at rtt_min + 0 and .v at + sizeof(.t), i.e. what minmax_get() returns), so the loaded field is unchanged and only the full-sock guard is added. The two BUILD_BUG_ON()s that protected the hand-computed offset are no longer needed. Before patch: 0: r1 = *(u64 *)(r1 +0) ; r1 = skops->sk 1: r1 = *(u32 *)(r1 +2324) ; ((tcp_sock *)sk)->rtt_min.s[0].v After patch: 0: *(u64 *)(r1 +56) = r9 1: r9 = *(u8 *)(r1 +50) ; is_locked_tcp_sock 2: if r9 == 0 goto pc+4 ; not a locked full sock -> 0 3: r9 = *(u64 *)(r1 +56) 4: r1 = *(u64 *)(r1 +0) ; r1 = skops->sk 5: r1 = *(u32 *)(r1 +2324) ; rtt_min.s[0].v 6: goto pc+2 7: r9 = *(u64 *)(r1 +56) 8: r1 = 0

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2026-10-18
Last modified 2026-10-18
Patch available
Yes

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 4.16 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 7.3 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 4.16
Fixed in
✓ 5.10.271 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.222 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.189 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.158 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.112 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.55 6.18.x ✓ 7.2.9 7.2.x ✓ 7.3

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2026-98643?

    CVE-2026-98643 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.16 onward and has been patched in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189 and others. CVE-2026-98643 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-98643?

    Yes. CVE-2026-98643 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.16 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2026-98643 actively exploited?

    No. CVE-2026-98643 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.