CVE-2026-93138 json
bpf: Fix vmlinux BTF prep race in bpf_get_btf_vmlinux
published 2026-09-17 52 d ago modified 2026-10-19 21 d ago also EUVD-2026-82246
- cvss
- 7.8
- version 3.1, CNA
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.2%
- EPSS 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 7%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
bpf: Fix vmlinux BTF prep race in bpf_get_btf_vmlinux
bpf_get_btf_vmlinux() lazily parses the vmlinux BTF under the bpf_verifier_lock, but publishes the result through a plain store and re-checks it through a plain lockless load. Nothing orders the stores initializing the struct btf inside btf_parse_vmlinux() against the store publishing the pointer: On a weakly ordered arch, a concurrent first-time caller taking the lockless fast path could in principle observe the pointer before the parsed contents are visible. The mutex_unlock() does not help such a reader given it only synchronizes with a later acquisition of the same lock. Thus, publish the pointer with smp_store_release() and read it on the fast path with smp_load_acquire().
Acquire semantics are needed rather than a dependency-ordered READ_ONCE(): btf_parse_vmlinux() also populates globals outside the returned object (e.g. bpf_ctx_convert.t). An address dependency would only order accesses performed through the pointer and not cover other globals.
Patch / fix
- Linux Linux 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.110, 6.18.52, 7.2.6, 7.3
- linux Debian 12 6.1.190-1
- linux Debian 13 6.12.111-1
- linux Debian 14 7.2.6-1
- linux-6.12 Debian 12 6.12.111-1~deb12u1
debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2026-93138
- linux Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-202.212
- linux Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 7.0.0-42.42
- linux-aws Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1119.126
- linux-aws Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 7.0.0-1016.17
- linux-gcp Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1120.130
- linux-gcp Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 7.0.0-1016.18
- linux-gke Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1115.121
- linux-ibm Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1113.117
ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2026-93138
Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0
- kernel-source openSUSE Tumbleweed 7.2.8-1.1
opensuse advisories openSUSE-SU-2026:11893-1
- kernel Azure Linux 3.0 6.6.157.1-1
azure linux advisories AZL-102888
Azure Linux vulnerability data, Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation, from https://github.com/microsoft/AzureLinuxVulnerabilityData via OSV, under the MIT licence; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. MIT
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/f32a4a40bc635be25d6816da4bd91e9e58c31bf3 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/a7fe72d780122eb934536f1719abad445f6afdf7 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e18a10b39c994f04e1ebd7f8fc042bb1ca8ad053 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/978524ecfc1c539282df5858de1eec20748c6f74 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/eaf302628a78806f66d8224d6ba03fb4d5025de4 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/2892f3f44bf865c8fb6b6c0960edec4cc91806ee commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/86d11c594d60b255b526fa5260f669463fb1a063 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/92863e678070f57c17c868e4bfa2441a5c61ad2b commit
Vendor advisories
What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.
red hat product security vex CVE-2026-93138 updated cvss 5.5
kernel: bpf: Fix vmlinux BTF prep race in bpf_get_btf_vmlinux
-
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, kernel-core, kernel-tools, +29 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 rv, perf, rtla, kernel, bpftool, libperf, +83 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 kernel Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-8, openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9 Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9affected: workaround, no fix available “Fix deferred”
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 perf, kernel, python-perf, kernel-kdump, kernel-firmware, kernel-bootwrapper, +1 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, python-perf, kernel-kdump, +8 morenot affected: vulnerable code not present
Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf
Exploit prediction
0.18% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 7% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | 3.1 | 7.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
Affected products
- Linux Linux
Classification
- Technology feeds
References
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/f32a4a40bc635be25d6816da4bd91e9e58c31bf3
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/a7fe72d780122eb934536f1719abad445f6afdf7
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/e18a10b39c994f04e1ebd7f8fc042bb1ca8ad053
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/978524ecfc1c539282df5858de1eec20748c6f74
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/eaf302628a78806f66d8224d6ba03fb4d5025de4
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/2892f3f44bf865c8fb6b6c0960edec4cc91806ee
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/86d11c594d60b255b526fa5260f669463fb1a063
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/92863e678070f57c17c868e4bfa2441a5c61ad2b
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2026-93138
- NVD CVE-2026-93138
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