Linux: Use After Free
CVE-2023-53454 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 ac0d389402a6ff9ad92cea02c2d8c711483b91ab, 39c70c19456e50dcb3abfe53539220dff0490f1d, df7ca43fe090e1a56c216c8ebc106ef5fd49afc6 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 0.24% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Linux to ac0d389402a6ff9ad92cea02c2d8c711483b91ab or 39c70c19456e50dcb3abfe53539220dff0490f1d or df7ca43fe090e1a56c216c8ebc106ef5fd49afc6 or 15ec7cb55e7d88755aa01d44a7a1015a42bfce86, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Linux Kernel to 4.14.326 or 4.19.295 or 5.4.257 or 5.10.195, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | c08d46aa805ba46d501f610c2448d07bea979780 up to, but not including, ac0d389402a6ff9ad92cea02c2d8c711483b91ab; c08d46aa805ba46d501f610c2448d07bea979780 up to, but not including, 39c70c19456e50dcb3abfe53539220dff0490f1d; c08d46aa805ba46d501f610c2448d07bea979780 up to, but not including, df7ca43fe090e1a56c216c8ebc106ef5fd49afc6; c08d46aa805ba46d501f610c2448d07bea979780 up to, but not including, 15ec7cb55e7d88755aa01d44a7a1015a42bfce86; c08d46aa805ba46d501f610c2448d07bea979780 up to, but not including, dde88ab4e45beb60b217026207aa9c14c88d71ab; c08d46aa805ba46d501f610c2448d07bea979780 up to, but not including, 2763732ec1e68910719c75b6b896e11b6d3d622b; c08d46aa805ba46d501f610c2448d07bea979780 up to, but not including, 1d7833db9fd118415dace2ca157bfa603dec9c8c; c08d46aa805ba46d501f610c2448d07bea979780 up to, but not including, b70ac7849248ec8128fa12f86e3655ba38838f29; and 2 more ranges | ac0d389402a6ff9ad92cea02c2d8c711483b91ab, 39c70c19456e50dcb3abfe53539220dff0490f1d, df7ca43fe090e1a56c216c8ebc106ef5fd49afc6, 15ec7cb55e7d88755aa01d44a7a1015a42bfce86, dde88ab4e45beb60b217026207aa9c14c88d71ab, 2763732ec1e68910719c75b6b896e11b6d3d622b |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 3.12 up to, but not including, 4.14.326; 4.15 up to, but not including, 4.19.295; 4.20 up to, but not including, 5.4.257; 5.5 up to, but not including, 5.10.195; 5.11 up to, but not including, 5.15.132; 5.16 up to, but not including, 6.1.53; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.4.16; 6.5 up to, but not including, 6.5.3 | 4.14.326, 4.19.295, 5.4.257, 5.10.195, 5.15.132, 6.1.53 |
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 system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 8.8 | High | CNA |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.8 | High | NVD |
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: HID: multitouch: Correct devm device reference for hidinput input_dev name Reference the HID device rather than the input device for the devm allocation of the input_dev name. Referencing the input_dev would lead to a use-after-free when the input_dev was unregistered and subsequently fires a uevent that depends on the name. At the point of firing the uevent, the name would be freed by devres management. Use devm_kasprintf to simplify the logic for allocating memory and formatting the input_dev name string.
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.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/15ec7cb55e7d88755aa01d44a7a1015a42bfce86
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/1d7833db9fd118415dace2ca157bfa603dec9c8c
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/2763732ec1e68910719c75b6b896e11b6d3d622b
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/39c70c19456e50dcb3abfe53539220dff0490f1d
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/4794394635293a3e74591351fff469cea7ad15a2
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/ac0d389402a6ff9ad92cea02c2d8c711483b91ab
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/b70ac7849248ec8128fa12f86e3655ba38838f29
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/dde88ab4e45beb60b217026207aa9c14c88d71ab
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/df7ca43fe090e1a56c216c8ebc106ef5fd49afc6
Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities
- 8.1 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
Spotted an error? Tell us.