Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

bpf: Fix helper writes to read-only maps

Lonial found an issue that despite user- and BPF-side frozen BPF map
(like in case of .rodata), it was still possible to write into it from
a BPF program side through specific helpers having ARG_PTR_TO_{LONG,INT}
as arguments.

In check_func_arg() when the argument is as mentioned, the meta->raw_mode
is never set. Later, check_helper_mem_access(), under the case of
PTR_TO_MAP_VALUE as register base type, it assumes BPF_READ for the
subsequent call to check_map_access_type() and given the BPF map is
read-only it succeeds.

The helpers really need to be annotated as ARG_PTR_TO_{LONG,INT} | MEM_UNINIT
when results are written into them as opposed to read out of them. The
latter indicates that it's okay to pass a pointer to uninitialized memory
as the memory is written to anyway.

However, ARG_PTR_TO_{LONG,INT} is a special case of ARG_PTR_TO_FIXED_SIZE_MEM
just with additional alignment requirement. So it is better to just get
rid of the ARG_PTR_TO_{LONG,INT} special cases altogether and reuse the
fixed size memory types. For this, add MEM_ALIGNED to additionally ensure
alignment given these helpers write directly into the args via *<ptr> = val.
The .arg*_size has been initialized reflecting the actual sizeof(*<ptr>).

MEM_ALIGNED can only be used in combination with MEM_FIXED_SIZE annotated
argument types, since in !MEM_FIXED_SIZE cases the verifier does not know
the buffer size a priori and therefore cannot blindly write *<ptr> = val.
Published: 2024-10-21
Score: 7.1 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

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Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

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Tracking

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Advisories
Source ID Title
Debian DLA Debian DLA DLA-4076-1 linux-6.1 security update
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7276-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7277-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7301-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7303-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7303-2 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7303-3 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7304-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7310-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7311-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7384-1 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7384-2 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7385-1 Linux kernel (IBM) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7386-1 Linux kernel (OEM) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7403-1 Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7468-1 Linux kernel (Azure, N-Series) vulnerabilities
History

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 21:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References

Thu, 26 Dec 2024 02:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-99
Metrics threat_severity

Moderate

threat_severity

Low


Sat, 14 Dec 2024 21:00:00 +0000


Wed, 23 Oct 2024 17:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
Weaknesses NVD-CWE-noinfo
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.1, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H'}


Tue, 22 Oct 2024 01:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

threat_severity

Moderate


Mon, 21 Oct 2024 13:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Mon, 21 Oct 2024 12:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Fix helper writes to read-only maps Lonial found an issue that despite user- and BPF-side frozen BPF map (like in case of .rodata), it was still possible to write into it from a BPF program side through specific helpers having ARG_PTR_TO_{LONG,INT} as arguments. In check_func_arg() when the argument is as mentioned, the meta->raw_mode is never set. Later, check_helper_mem_access(), under the case of PTR_TO_MAP_VALUE as register base type, it assumes BPF_READ for the subsequent call to check_map_access_type() and given the BPF map is read-only it succeeds. The helpers really need to be annotated as ARG_PTR_TO_{LONG,INT} | MEM_UNINIT when results are written into them as opposed to read out of them. The latter indicates that it's okay to pass a pointer to uninitialized memory as the memory is written to anyway. However, ARG_PTR_TO_{LONG,INT} is a special case of ARG_PTR_TO_FIXED_SIZE_MEM just with additional alignment requirement. So it is better to just get rid of the ARG_PTR_TO_{LONG,INT} special cases altogether and reuse the fixed size memory types. For this, add MEM_ALIGNED to additionally ensure alignment given these helpers write directly into the args via *<ptr> = val. The .arg*_size has been initialized reflecting the actual sizeof(*<ptr>). MEM_ALIGNED can only be used in combination with MEM_FIXED_SIZE annotated argument types, since in !MEM_FIXED_SIZE cases the verifier does not know the buffer size a priori and therefore cannot blindly write *<ptr> = val.
Title bpf: Fix helper writes to read-only maps
References

Subscriptions

Linux Linux Kernel
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-05-11T20:40:38.986Z

Reserved: 2024-10-21T12:17:06.017Z

Link: CVE-2024-49861

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2025-11-03T20:41:16.087Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Modified

Published: 2024-10-21T13:15:06.800

Modified: 2025-11-03T21:16:32.187

Link: CVE-2024-49861

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Low

Publid Date: 2024-10-21T00:00:00Z

Links: CVE-2024-49861 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses