A Linux community kernel patch affecting eBPF programs may cause occasional and abnormal spikes in CPU utilization on some nodes. This issue occurs if your cluster uses the Terway container network plugin and has the eBPF-based DataPath V2 feature enabled. DataPath V2 is automatically enabled when you enable NetworkPolicy.
Scope of impact
Nodes that meet all of the following conditions are affected:
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The node operating system is Alibaba Cloud Linux 3 or ContainerOS, and the kernel version is between 5.10.134-15 and 5.10.134-19.1, inclusive.
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The cluster uses the Terway container network plugin, and DataPath V2 mode is enabled. DataPath V2 is automatically enabled when NetworkPolicy support is enabled.
Solutions
Check if nodes need to be fixed
First, determine whether the nodes in your cluster require remediation. Use ECS Cloud Assistant to run the following command in batch on the nodes in your cluster:
If a node requires remediation, the following result is returned:
Alibaba Cloud Linux 3 nodes
Detected /sys/fs/bpf/tc/globals/cilium_ct4_global, proceeding with kernel version check...
Current kernel release: 5.10.134-18.al8.x86_64
Detected kernel type: al8
Kernel version 5.10.134-18 is within range 5.10.134-15~5.10.134-19.1.
kpatch_22519882 module is not loaded. Hotfix package 'kernel-hotfix-22519882-5.10.134-18' needs to be installed.
Running in dry-run mode.Use2yto install the hotfix.
ContainerOS nodes
Detected /sys/fs/bpf/tc/globals/cilium_ct4_global, proceeding with kernel version check...
Current kernel release: 5.10.134-18.0.1.lifsea8.x86_64
Detected kernel type: lifsea8
Kernel version 5.10.134-18.0 is within range 5.10.134-15 ~ 5.10.134-19.1.
WARNING: This is a lifsea8 kernel (5.10.134-18.0.1.lifsea8.x86_64).
The issue cannot be fixed by hotpatch. You must upgrade to ContainerOS 3.5.1 or later.
See official documentation or contact support for upgrade instructions.
If one of the following results is returned, the node does not require remediation:
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The Terway eBPF feature is not enabled on the node. The patch installation is skipped.
Path /sys/fs/bpf/tc/globals/cilium_ct4_global does not exist, skipping check. -
The patch is already installed. No reinstallation is needed.
... kpatch_22519882 module is already loaded, no actions needed.
Apply the fix
Different remediation steps apply to ContainerOS and Alibaba Cloud Linux 3.
Fix for ContainerOS nodes
For ContainerOS nodes, this issue will be automatically fixed in the upcoming ContainerOS 3.5.1 release. Follow the ContainerOS image release notes. After version 3.5.1 is published, upgrade the version. For more information, see Change the operating system.
Fix for Alibaba Cloud Linux 3 nodes
Add custom data for new scale-out nodes
When you create a new node pool or edit an existing one, add the following script to the Pre-defined Custom Data field. This ensures that newly scaled-out nodes automatically install Kernel Live Patching after they start up. For detailed steps, see Create and manage node pools.

Install the patch on existing nodes
For existing Alibaba Cloud Linux 3 nodes, use ECS Cloud Assistant to run the following command on the nodes that require remediation:
The expected output is as follows. This indicates that the patch installation is complete:
......
Total 1.0 MB/s | 52 kB 00:00
Running transaction check
Transaction check succeeded.
Running transaction test
Transaction test succeeded.
Running transaction
Preparing : 1/1
Installing : kpatch-dnf-0.9.7_0.4-2.0.1.al8.noarch 1/3
Running scriptlet: kpatch-dnf-0.9.7_0.4-2.0.1.al8.noarch 1/3
To enable automatic kpatch-patch subscription, run:
$ dnf kpatch auto
Installing : kpatch-0.9.7-2.0.1.al8.noarch 2/3
Running scriptlet: kernel-hotfix-22519882-5.10.134-18-1.0-20250804154834.al8.x86_64 3/3
Installing : kernel-hotfix-22519882-5.10.134-18-1.0-20250804154834.al8.x86_64 3/3
Running scriptlet: kernel-hotfix-22519882-5.10.134-18-1.0-20250804154834.al8.x86_64 3/3
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/kpatch.service → /usr/lib/systemd/system/kpatch.service.
installing /var/khotfix/5.10.134-18.al8.x86_64/22519882/kpatch-22519882.ko (5.10.134-18.al8.x86_64)
loading patch module: /var/khotfix/5.10.134-18.al8.x86_64/22519882/kpatch-22519882.ko
Verifying : kpatch-0.9.7-2.0.1.al8.noarch 1/3
Verifying : kpatch-dnf-0.9.7_0.4-2.0.1.al8.noarch 2/3
Verifying : kernel-hotfix-22519882-5.10.134-18-1.0-20250804154834.al8.x86_64 3/3
Installed:
kernel-hotfix-22519882-5.10.134-18-1.0-20250804154834.al8.x86_64 kpatch-0.9.7-2.0.1.al8.noarch kpatch-dnf-0.9.7_0.4-2.0.1.al8.noarch
Complete!
Installation successful.
References
Troubleshooting high CPU utilization caused by LRU hash in eBPF programs on Alibaba Cloud Linux 3