CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2023-53142NVD status: Analyzed

Linux: Out-of-bounds Write

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2023-53142 is a high-severity out-of-bounds write 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 c813f7a3161481483ae2077651b21bc217c419e0, 90b40ab29298db3a4879c1d3c4e685184386bce6, 8cfbdda65588e75bfbd93e5ee847efcb4796ad09 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 0.22% 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 c813f7a3161481483ae2077651b21bc217c419e0 or 90b40ab29298db3a4879c1d3c4e685184386bce6 or 8cfbdda65588e75bfbd93e5ee847efcb4796ad09 or 84cba1840e68430325ac133a11be06bfb2f7acd8, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 5.15.103 or 6.1.20 or 6.2.7, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinuxe9c9692c8a81aacf0854f68ab54dc182f8be38e8 up to, but not including, c813f7a3161481483ae2077651b21bc217c419e0; e9c9692c8a81aacf0854f68ab54dc182f8be38e8 up to, but not including, 90b40ab29298db3a4879c1d3c4e685184386bce6; e9c9692c8a81aacf0854f68ab54dc182f8be38e8 up to, but not including, 8cfbdda65588e75bfbd93e5ee847efcb4796ad09; e9c9692c8a81aacf0854f68ab54dc182f8be38e8 up to, but not including, 84cba1840e68430325ac133a11be06bfb2f7acd8; 5.13c813f7a3161481483ae2077651b21bc217c419e0, 90b40ab29298db3a4879c1d3c4e685184386bce6, 8cfbdda65588e75bfbd93e5ee847efcb4796ad09, 84cba1840e68430325ac133a11be06bfb2f7acd8
LinuxLinux Kernel5.13 up to, but not including, 5.15.103; 5.16 up to, but not including, 6.1.20; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.2.7; 6.35.15.103, 6.1.20, 6.2.7

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.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ice: copy last block omitted in ice_get_module_eeprom() ice_get_module_eeprom() is broken since commit e9c9692c8a81 ("ice: Reimplement module reads used by ethtool") In this refactor, ice_get_module_eeprom() reads the eeprom in blocks of size 8. But the condition that should protect the buffer overflow ignores the last block. The last block always contains zeros. Bug uncovered by ethtool upstream commit 9538f384b535 ("netlink: eeprom: Defer page requests to individual parsers") After this commit, ethtool reads a block with length = 1; to read the SFF-8024 identifier value. unpatched driver: $ ethtool -m enp65s0f0np0 offset 0x90 length 8 Offset Values ------ ------ 0x0090: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 $ ethtool -m enp65s0f0np0 offset 0x90 length 12 Offset Values ------ ------ 0x0090: 00 00 01 a0 4d 65 6c 6c 00 00 00 00 $ $ ethtool -m enp65s0f0np0 Offset Values ------ ------ 0x0000: 11 06 06 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0x0010: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0x0020: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0x0030: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0x0040: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0x0050: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0x0060: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 08 00 0x0070: 00 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 patched driver: $ ethtool -m enp65s0f0np0 offset 0x90 length 8 Offset Values ------ ------ 0x0090: 00 00 01 a0 4d 65 6c 6c $ ethtool -m enp65s0f0np0 offset 0x90 length 12 Offset Values ------ ------ 0x0090: 00 00 01 a0 4d 65 6c 6c 61 6e 6f 78 $ ethtool -m enp65s0f0np0 Identifier : 0x11 (QSFP28) Extended identifier : 0x00 Extended identifier description : 1.5W max. Power consumption Extended identifier description : No CDR in TX, No CDR in RX Extended identifier description : High Power Class (> 3.5 W) not enabled Connector : 0x23 (No separable connector) Transceiver codes : 0x88 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 Transceiver type : 40G Ethernet: 40G Base-CR4 Transceiver type : 25G Ethernet: 25G Base-CR CA-N Encoding : 0x05 (64B/66B) BR, Nominal : 25500Mbps Rate identifier : 0x00 Length (SMF,km) : 0km Length (OM3 50um) : 0m Length (OM2 50um) : 0m Length (OM1 62.5um) : 0m Length (Copper or Active cable) : 1m Transmitter technology : 0xa0 (Copper cable unequalized) Attenuation at 2.5GHz : 4db Attenuation at 5.0GHz : 5db Attenuation at 7.0GHz : 7db Attenuation at 12.9GHz : 10db ........ ....

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

The underlying weakness: Out-of-bounds Write

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

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • 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, and the Strsafe.h library from Microsoft. 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 discusses canary-based detection in detail.

More Out-of-bounds Write vulnerabilities (CWE-787)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Out-of-bounds Write vulnerabilities

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