[PATCH bpf] bpf: fix BPF_F_CPU validation for sparse CPU IDs

[PATCH bpf] bpf: fix BPF_F_CPU validation for sparse CPU IDs

[Hui Su]

BPF_F_CPU stores the target CPU ID in the upper 32 bits of the map
operation flags. bpf_map_check_op_flags() currently compares that ID
with num_possible_cpus(), which is the number of possible CPUs rather
than a bound on CPU IDs.

On an arm64 QEMU guest with a CPU device-tree hole, the possible CPU
mask was 0,2-3. A userspace program using raw bpf() syscalls creates
a BPF_MAP_TYPE_PERCPU_ARRAY and performs update and lookup operations
for each CPU by setting BPF_F_CPU and the CPU ID in the flags.

With the old check, CPU 1 is incorrectly accepted while valid CPU 3 is
rejected with -ERANGE. The CPU 1 update then reaches the per-CPU map
access path and triggers:

  Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address ...
  pc : __pi_memcpy_generic+0x5c/0x22c
  lr : bpf_percpu_array_update+0x2dc/0x2e8
  Call trace:
    __pi_memcpy_generic
    bpf_map_update_value
    map_update_elem
    __sys_bpf

Check the CPU ID against nr_cpu_ids and cpu_possible() instead. This
rejects CPU IDs outside the valid range and CPUs absent from the
possible mask, while allowing valid sparse CPU IDs.

Fixes: 2b421662c788 ("bpf: Introduce BPF_F_CPU and BPF_F_ALL_CPUS flags")
Signed-off-by: Hui Su <sh_def@163.com>
---
 include/linux/bpf.h | 3 ++-
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/include/linux/bpf.h b/include/linux/bpf.h
index 7719f6528445..282f7022d984 100644
--- a/include/linux/bpf.h
+++ b/include/linux/bpf.h
@@ -4202,7 +4202,8 @@ static inline int bpf_map_check_op_flags(struct bpf_map *map, u64 flags, u64 all
 			return -EINVAL;
 
 		cpu = flags >> 32;
-		if ((flags & BPF_F_CPU) && cpu >= num_possible_cpus())
+		if ((flags & BPF_F_CPU) &&
+		    (cpu >= nr_cpu_ids || !cpu_possible(cpu)))
 			return -ERANGE;
 	}
 
-- 
2.54.0

Re: [PATCH bpf] bpf: fix BPF_F_CPU validation for sparse CPU IDs

[sashiko-bot]

Thank you for your contribution! Sashiko AI review found 1 potential issue(s) to consider:

Pre-existing issues:
- [High] Bulk updates of per-CPU maps (without BPF_F_CPU or BPF_F_ALL_CPUS flags) read out-of-bounds from the userspace-provided value buffer on systems with sparse CPU possible masks.
--

--- Patch [1]: [PATCH bpf] bpf: fix BPF_F_CPU validation for sparse CPU IDs ---
commit 821903ca90d43b9f0e29ab7849f998f149e58245
Author: Hui Su <sh_def@163.com>

bpf: fix BPF_F_CPU validation for sparse CPU IDs

BPF_F_CPU stores the target CPU ID in the upper 32 bits of the map
operation flags. bpf_map_check_op_flags() currently compares that ID
with num_possible_cpus(), which is the number of possible CPUs rather
than a bound on CPU IDs.

> diff --git a/include/linux/bpf.h b/include/linux/bpf.h
> index b4a10c9878cf8..3d9a632d7d33d 100644
> --- a/include/linux/bpf.h
> +++ b/include/linux/bpf.h
> @@ -4201,7 +4201,8 @@ static inline int bpf_map_check_op_flags(struct bpf_map *map, u64 flags, u64 all
>  			return -EINVAL;
>  
>  		cpu = flags >> 32;
> -		if ((flags & BPF_F_CPU) && cpu >= num_possible_cpus())
> +		if ((flags & BPF_F_CPU) &&
> +		    (cpu >= nr_cpu_ids || !cpu_possible(cpu)))
>  			return -ERANGE;
>  	}

[Severity: High]
This is a pre-existing issue, but does the bulk update path (without BPF_F_CPU
or BPF_F_ALL_CPUS) have an out-of-bounds read on sparse CPU masks?

When a per-CPU map is updated from userspace, the user buffer is copied into a
kernel buffer allocated densely based on num_possible_cpus():

kernel/bpf/syscall.c:bpf_map_value_size() {
    ...
    return round_up(map->value_size, 8) * num_possible_cpus();
    ...
}

However, during bulk update, the source pointer is calculated sparsely using
the cpu index:

kernel/bpf/arraymap.c:bpf_percpu_array_update() {
    ...
    for_each_possible_cpu(cpu) {
        ...
        val = (map_flags & BPF_F_ALL_CPUS) ? value : value + size * cpu;
        copy_map_value(map, ptr, val);
    ...
}

If the possible CPUs are sparse (e.g., 0, 2, 3), num_possible_cpus() is 3,
making the allocated buffer size * 3 bytes long. But in the loop, cpu can
reach 3, resulting in value + size * 3, which points past the end of the
allocated buffer.

Can this lead to an out-of-bounds read that copies leaked kernel heap data
into the BPF map? This pattern also appears in hashtab.c:pcpu_copy_value()
and local_storage.c:bpf_percpu_cgroup_storage_update().

Note that lookup operations (like bpf_percpu_array_copy) seem to use dense
indexing (off += size), which suggests a mismatch between how values are
read and written in bulk.

-- 
Sashiko AI review · https://sashiko.dev/#/patchset/20260813101229.680523-3-sh_def@163.com?part=1

Re: [PATCH bpf] bpf: fix BPF_F_CPU validation for sparse CPU IDs

[Leon Hwang]

Hi Hui,

On 2026/8/13 18:12, Hui Su wrote:
> BPF_F_CPU stores the target CPU ID in the upper 32 bits of the map
> operation flags. bpf_map_check_op_flags() currently compares that ID
> with num_possible_cpus(), which is the number of possible CPUs rather
> than a bound on CPU IDs.
> 
> On an arm64 QEMU guest with a CPU device-tree hole, the possible CPU

TIL about the possible CPU hole.

> mask was 0,2-3. A userspace program using raw bpf() syscalls creates
> a BPF_MAP_TYPE_PERCPU_ARRAY and performs update and lookup operations
> for each CPU by setting BPF_F_CPU and the CPU ID in the flags.
> 
> With the old check, CPU 1 is incorrectly accepted while valid CPU 3 is
> rejected with -ERANGE. The CPU 1 update then reaches the per-CPU map
> access path and triggers:
> 
>   Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address ...
>   pc : __pi_memcpy_generic+0x5c/0x22c
>   lr : bpf_percpu_array_update+0x2dc/0x2e8
>   Call trace:
>     __pi_memcpy_generic
>     bpf_map_update_value
>     map_update_elem
>     __sys_bpf
> 
> Check the CPU ID against nr_cpu_ids and cpu_possible() instead. This
> rejects CPU IDs outside the valid range and CPUs absent from the
> possible mask, while allowing valid sparse CPU IDs.
> 
> Fixes: 2b421662c788 ("bpf: Introduce BPF_F_CPU and BPF_F_ALL_CPUS flags")
> Signed-off-by: Hui Su <sh_def@163.com>
> ---
>  include/linux/bpf.h | 3 ++-
>  1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
> 
> diff --git a/include/linux/bpf.h b/include/linux/bpf.h
> index 7719f6528445..282f7022d984 100644
> --- a/include/linux/bpf.h
> +++ b/include/linux/bpf.h
> @@ -4202,7 +4202,8 @@ static inline int bpf_map_check_op_flags(struct bpf_map *map, u64 flags, u64 all
>  			return -EINVAL;
>  
>  		cpu = flags >> 32;
> -		if ((flags & BPF_F_CPU) && cpu >= num_possible_cpus())
> +		if ((flags & BPF_F_CPU) &&
> +		    (cpu >= nr_cpu_ids || !cpu_possible(cpu)))

NIT: no need to put the cpu check on a new line, as 100 chars per line
are allowed.

Other than the NIT,

Acked-by: Leon Hwang <leon.hwang@linux.dev>

>  			return -ERANGE;
>  	}
>