Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2026-45886
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Fix bpf_xdp_store_bytes proto for read-only arg While making some maps in Cilium read-only from the BPF side, we noticed that the bpf_xdp_store_bytes proto is incorrect. In particular, the verifier was throwing the following error: ; ret = ctx_store_bytes(ctx, l3_off + offsetof(struct iphdr, saddr), &nat->address, 4, 0); 635: (79) r1 = *(u64 *)(r10 -144) ; R1=ctx() R10=fp0 fp-144=ctx() 636: (b4) w2 = 26 ; R2=26 637: (b4) w4 = 4 ; R4=4 638: (b4) w5 = 0 ; R5=0 639: (85) call bpf_xdp_store_bytes#190 write into map forbidden, value_size=6 off=0 size=4 nat comes from a BPF_F_RDONLY_PROG map, so R3 is a PTR_TO_MAP_VALUE. The verifier checks the helper's memory access to R3 in check_mem_size_reg, as it reaches ARG_CONST_SIZE argument. The third argument has expected type ARG_PTR_TO_UNINIT_MEM, which includes the MEM_WRITE flag. The verifier thus checks for a BPF_WRITE access on R3. Given R3 points to a read-only map, the check fails. Conversely, ARG_PTR_TO_UNINIT_MEM can also lead to the helper reading from uninitialized memory. This patch simply fixes the expected argument type to match that of bpf_skb_store_bytes.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysisMemory or a resource is used before it has been initialised, so its contents are whatever happened to be there — sometimes leaking earlier data, sometimes values an attacker can influence. Behaviour becomes unpredictable and occasionally exploitable. Remediation is initialising every resource before use and ensuring initialisation happens on all code paths.
General guidance for the use of uninitialized resource class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
>= 5.18, < 6.1.165>= 6.2, < 6.6.128>= 6.7, < 6.12.75>= 6.13, < 6.18.14>= 6.19, < 6.19.4CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped6.1.1656.6.1286.12.75
Upgrade to kernel version 6.1.165 (for 6.1.x branch), 6.6.128 (for 6.2-6.6.x branches), 6.12.75 (for 6.7-6.12.x branches), or 6.18.14 (for 6.13-6.18.x branches)
- Identify current kernel version with 'uname -r' to confirm affected version
- Consult your distribution's kernel repository or kernel.org to obtain the fixed version for your kernel branch (6.1.165, 6.6.128, 6.12.75, or 6.18.14 depending on your branch)
- Apply the upgrade via your distribution's package manager (e.g., 'apt-get update && apt-get install linux-image-<version>' for Debian/Ubuntu, or 'dnf update kernel' for Fedora/RHEL)
- Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
- Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version with 'uname -r' and confirming it matches or exceeds the fixed version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-45886 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-45886 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data