CVE-2026-31525

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

bpf: Fix undefined behavior in interpreter sdiv/smod for INT_MIN

The BPF interpreters signed 32-bit division and modulo handlers use the kernel abs() macro on s32 operands. The abs() macro documentation (include/linux/math.h) explicitly states the result is undefined when the input is the type minimum. When DST contains S32_MIN (0x80000000), abs((s32)DST) triggers undefined behavior and returns S32_MIN unchanged on arm64/x86. This value is then sign-extended to u64 as 0xFFFFFFFF80000000, causing do_div() to compute the wrong result.

The verifiers abstract interpretation (scalar32_min_max_sdiv) computes the mathematically correct result for range tracking, creating a verifier/interpreter mismatch that can be exploited for out-of-bounds map value access.

Introduce abs_s32() which handles S32_MIN correctly by casting to u32 before negating, avoiding signed overflow entirely. Replace all 8 abs((s32)…) call sites in the interpreters sdiv32/smod32 handlers.

s32 is the only affected case – the s64 division/modulo handlers do not use abs().

Weakness

The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.

Affected Software

Potential Mitigations

• Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.

• For example, many languages that perform their own memory management, such as Java and Perl, are not subject to buffer overflows. Other languages, such as Ada and C#, typically provide overflow protection, but the protection can be disabled by the programmer.

• Be wary that a language’s interface to native code may still be subject to overflows, even if the language itself is theoretically safe.

• Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.

• Examples include the Safe C String Library (SafeStr) by Messier and Viega [REF-57], and the Strsafe.h library from Microsoft [REF-56]. These libraries provide safer versions of overflow-prone string-handling functions.

• Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index checking.

• D3-SFCV (Stack Frame Canary Validation) from D3FEND [REF-1334] discusses canary-based detection in detail.

• Consider adhering to the following rules when allocating and managing an application’s memory:

• Run or compile the software using features or extensions that randomly arrange the positions of a program’s executable and libraries in memory. Because this makes the addresses unpredictable, it can prevent an attacker from reliably jumping to exploitable code.

• Examples include Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) [REF-58] [REF-60] and Position-Independent Executables (PIE) [REF-64]. Imported modules may be similarly realigned if their default memory addresses conflict with other modules, in a process known as “rebasing” (for Windows) and “prelinking” (for Linux) [REF-1332] using randomly generated addresses. ASLR for libraries cannot be used in conjunction with prelink since it would require relocating the libraries at run-time, defeating the whole purpose of prelinking.

• For more information on these techniques see D3-SAOR (Segment Address Offset Randomization) from D3FEND [REF-1335].

• Use a CPU and operating system that offers Data Execution Protection (using hardware NX or XD bits) or the equivalent techniques that simulate this feature in software, such as PaX [REF-60] [REF-61]. These techniques ensure that any instruction executed is exclusively at a memory address that is part of the code segment.

• For more information on these techniques see D3-PSEP (Process Segment Execution Prevention) from D3FEND [REF-1336].

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0d5d8c3ce45c734aaf3c51cbef59155a6746157d
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/694ea55f1b1c74f9942d91ec366ae9e822422e42
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9ab1227765c446942f290c83382f0b19887c55cf
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c77b30bd1dcb61f66c640ff7d2757816210c7cb0
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f14ca604c0ff274fba19f73f1f0485c0047c1396