CVE-2024-38574: libbpf: Prevent null-pointer dereference when prog to load has no BTF

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2024-06-19 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-476

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: libbpf: Prevent null-pointer dereference when prog to load has no BTF In bpf_objec_load_prog(), there's no guarantee that obj->btf is non-NULL when passing it to btf__fd(), and this function does not perform any check before dereferencing its argument (as bpf_object__btf_fd() used to do). As a consequence, we get segmentation fault errors in bpftool (for example) when trying to load programs that come without BTF information. v2: Keep btf__fd() in the fix instead of reverting to bpf_object__btf_fd().

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 6.8 before 6.8.12; from 6.9 before 6.9.3 — fixed in 6.8.12, 6.9.3

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.8.12, 6.9.3. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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