CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2023-53052NVD status: Modified

Linux: Use After Free

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2023-53052 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 5a89d81c1a3c152837ea204fd29572228e54ce0b, 396935de145589c8bfe552fa03a5e38604071829 as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.19% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to 5a89d81c1a3c152837ea204fd29572228e54ce0b or 396935de145589c8bfe552fa03a5e38604071829, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 6.2.8 or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux6916881f443f67f6893b504fa2171468c8aed915 up to, but not including, 5a89d81c1a3c152837ea204fd29572228e54ce0b; 6916881f443f67f6893b504fa2171468c8aed915 up to, but not including, 396935de145589c8bfe552fa03a5e38604071829; 6.25a89d81c1a3c152837ea204fd29572228e54ce0b, 396935de145589c8bfe552fa03a5e38604071829
LinuxLinux Kernel6.2 up to, but not including, 6.2.8; 6.36.2.8

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 3.17.8HighCNA
CVSS 3.17.8HighNVD

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cifs: fix use-after-free bug in refresh_cache_worker() The UAF bug occurred because we were putting DFS root sessions in cifs_umount() while DFS cache refresher was being executed. Make DFS root sessions have same lifetime as DFS tcons so we can avoid the use-after-free bug is DFS cache refresher and other places that require IPCs to get new DFS referrals on. Also, get rid of mount group handling in DFS cache as we no longer need it. This fixes below use-after-free bug catched by KASAN [ 379.946955] BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in __refresh_tcon.isra.0+0x10b/0xc10 [cifs] [ 379.947642] Read of size 8 at addr ffff888018f57030 by task kworker/u4:3/56 [ 379.948096] [ 379.948208] CPU: 0 PID: 56 Comm: kworker/u4:3 Not tainted 6.2.0-rc7-lku #23 [ 379.948661] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.16.0-0-gd239552-rebuilt.opensuse.org 04/01/2014 [ 379.949368] Workqueue: cifs-dfscache refresh_cache_worker [cifs] [ 379.949942] Call Trace: [ 379.950113] <TASK> [ 379.950260] dump_stack_lvl+0x50/0x67 [ 379.950510] print_report+0x16a/0x48e [ 379.950759] ? __virt_addr_valid+0xd8/0x160 [ 379.951040] ? __phys_addr+0x41/0x80 [ 379.951285] kasan_report+0xdb/0x110 [ 379.951533] ? __refresh_tcon.isra.0+0x10b/0xc10 [cifs] [ 379.952056] ? __refresh_tcon.isra.0+0x10b/0xc10 [cifs] [ 379.952585] __refresh_tcon.isra.0+0x10b/0xc10 [cifs] [ 379.953096] ? __pfx___refresh_tcon.isra.0+0x10/0x10 [cifs] [ 379.953637] ? __pfx___mutex_lock+0x10/0x10 [ 379.953915] ? lock_release+0xb6/0x720 [ 379.954167] ? __pfx_lock_acquire+0x10/0x10 [ 379.954443] ? refresh_cache_worker+0x34e/0x6d0 [cifs] [ 379.954960] ? __pfx_wb_workfn+0x10/0x10 [ 379.955239] refresh_cache_worker+0x4ad/0x6d0 [cifs] [ 379.955755] ? __pfx_refresh_cache_worker+0x10/0x10 [cifs] [ 379.956323] ? __pfx_lock_acquired+0x10/0x10 [ 379.956615] ? read_word_at_a_time+0xe/0x20 [ 379.956898] ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x12/0x220 [ 379.957235] process_one_work+0x535/0x990 [ 379.957509] ? __pfx_process_one_work+0x10/0x10 [ 379.957812] ? lock_acquired+0xb7/0x5f0 [ 379.958069] ? __list_add_valid+0x37/0xd0 [ 379.958341] ? __list_add_valid+0x37/0xd0 [ 379.958611] worker_thread+0x8e/0x630 [ 379.958861] ? __pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10 [ 379.959148] kthread+0x17d/0x1b0 [ 379.959369] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 [ 379.959630] ret_from_fork+0x2c/0x50 [ 379.959879] </TASK>

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Use After Free

The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
  • When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.

More Use After Free vulnerabilities (CWE-416)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities

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