CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2023-53372NVD status: Modified

Linux: Out-of-bounds Write

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2023-53372 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 4fbd094d4131a10d06a45d64158567052a35b3f4, ad831a7079c99c01e801764b53bc9997c2e9c0f7, 79b28f42214a3d0d6a8c514db3602260bd5d6cb5 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 0.39% 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 4fbd094d4131a10d06a45d64158567052a35b3f4 or ad831a7079c99c01e801764b53bc9997c2e9c0f7 or 79b28f42214a3d0d6a8c514db3602260bd5d6cb5 or 6109f5b13ce3e3e537db6f18976ec0e9118d1c6f, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 4.19.281 or 5.4.241 or 5.10.178 or 5.15.108, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux0fc2ea922c8ad5520c80f03facbf396c81dce802 up to, but not including, 4fbd094d4131a10d06a45d64158567052a35b3f4; 0fc2ea922c8ad5520c80f03facbf396c81dce802 up to, but not including, ad831a7079c99c01e801764b53bc9997c2e9c0f7; 0fc2ea922c8ad5520c80f03facbf396c81dce802 up to, but not including, 79b28f42214a3d0d6a8c514db3602260bd5d6cb5; 0fc2ea922c8ad5520c80f03facbf396c81dce802 up to, but not including, 6109f5b13ce3e3e537db6f18976ec0e9118d1c6f; 0fc2ea922c8ad5520c80f03facbf396c81dce802 up to, but not including, 5c9367ac5a22d71841bcd00130f9146c9b227d57; 0fc2ea922c8ad5520c80f03facbf396c81dce802 up to, but not including, ad988e9b5ff04607e624a459209e8c2d0c15fc73; 0fc2ea922c8ad5520c80f03facbf396c81dce802 up to, but not including, 32832a2caf82663870126c5186cf8f86c8b2a649; 4.164fbd094d4131a10d06a45d64158567052a35b3f4, ad831a7079c99c01e801764b53bc9997c2e9c0f7, 79b28f42214a3d0d6a8c514db3602260bd5d6cb5, 6109f5b13ce3e3e537db6f18976ec0e9118d1c6f, 5c9367ac5a22d71841bcd00130f9146c9b227d57, ad988e9b5ff04607e624a459209e8c2d0c15fc73
LinuxLinux Kernel4.16 up to, but not including, 4.19.281; 4.20 up to, but not including, 5.4.241; 5.5 up to, but not including, 5.10.178; 5.11 up to, but not including, 5.15.108; 5.16 up to, but not including, 6.1.25; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.2.12; 6.34.19.281, 5.4.241, 5.10.178, 5.15.108, 6.1.25, 6.2.12

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 3.18.2HighCNA
CVSS 3.17.8HighNVD
CVSS 3.17.8HighCISA (ADP)

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: fix a potential overflow in sctp_ifwdtsn_skip Currently, when traversing ifwdtsn skips with _sctp_walk_ifwdtsn, it only checks the pos against the end of the chunk. However, the data left for the last pos may be < sizeof(struct sctp_ifwdtsn_skip), and dereference it as struct sctp_ifwdtsn_skip may cause coverflow. This patch fixes it by checking the pos against "the end of the chunk - sizeof(struct sctp_ifwdtsn_skip)" in sctp_ifwdtsn_skip, similar to sctp_fwdtsn_skip.

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: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Out-of-bounds Write vulnerabilities

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