# CVE-2026-74335: bpf: Fix NULL pointer dereference in bpf_task_from_vpid()

> A local attacker can trigger a kernel crash via a race condition in BPF cgroup_skb programs, causing denial of service.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-74335, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74335, GHSA-qq73-h7qm-vf49, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74335

## What is CVE-2026-74335?

CVE-2026-74335 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

bpf: Fix NULL pointer dereference in bpf_task_from_vpid()

bpf_task_from_vpid() looks up a task in the pid namespace of the
current task, via find_task_by_vpid():

  find_task_by_vpid(vpid)
    find_task_by_pid_ns(vpid, task_active_pid_ns(current))
      find_pid_ns(nr, ns) -> idr_find(&ns->idr, nr)

cgroup_skb programs run in softirq, which may interrupt a task that is
itself in do_exit(). Once that task has passed
exit_notify() -> release_task() -> __unhash_process(), its thread_pid is
cleared, so task_active_pid_ns(current) returns NULL and find_pid_ns()
dereferences &NULL->idr:

  BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000050
  RIP: 0010:idr_find+0x11/0x30 lib/idr.c:176
  Call Trace:
   <IRQ>
   find_pid_ns kernel/pid.c:370 [inline]
   find_task_by_pid_ns+0x3b/0xe0 kernel/pid.c:485
   bpf_task_from_vpid+0x5b/0x200 kernel/bpf/helpers.c:2916
   bpf_prog_run_array_cg+0x17e/0x530 kernel/bpf/cgroup.c:81
   __cgroup_bpf_run_filter_skb+0x12b/0x250 kernel/bpf/cgroup.c:1612
   sk_filter_trim_cap+0x1dc/0x4c0 net/core/filter.c:148
   tcp_v4_rcv+0x18d1/0x2200 net/ipv4/tcp_ipv4.c:2223
   </IRQ>
   <TASK>
   do_exit+0xa63/0x1270 kernel/exit.c:1010
   get_signal+0x141c/0x1530 kernel/signal.c:3037

Bail out when current has no pid namespace.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74335?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74335?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-74335 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74335 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74335 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74335 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74335 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74335/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74335/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74335
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74335
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74335

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74335/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.