CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2023-53541NVD status: Analyzed

Linux: Out-of-bounds Write

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2023-53541 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 2bc3d6ac704ea7263175ea3da663fdbbb7f3dd8b, 14b1d00520b4d6a4818364334ce472b79cfc8976, aae45746f4aee9818296e0500e0703e9d8caa5b8 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 0.17% 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 2bc3d6ac704ea7263175ea3da663fdbbb7f3dd8b or 14b1d00520b4d6a4818364334ce472b79cfc8976 or aae45746f4aee9818296e0500e0703e9d8caa5b8 or d00b031266514a9395124704630b056a5185ec17, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. 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

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux27c5b17cd1b10564fa36f8f51e4b4b41436ecc32 up to, but not including, 2bc3d6ac704ea7263175ea3da663fdbbb7f3dd8b; 27c5b17cd1b10564fa36f8f51e4b4b41436ecc32 up to, but not including, 14b1d00520b4d6a4818364334ce472b79cfc8976; 27c5b17cd1b10564fa36f8f51e4b4b41436ecc32 up to, but not including, aae45746f4aee9818296e0500e0703e9d8caa5b8; 27c5b17cd1b10564fa36f8f51e4b4b41436ecc32 up to, but not including, d00b031266514a9395124704630b056a5185ec17; 27c5b17cd1b10564fa36f8f51e4b4b41436ecc32 up to, but not including, 2353b7bb61e45e7cfd21505d0c6747ac8c9496a1; 27c5b17cd1b10564fa36f8f51e4b4b41436ecc32 up to, but not including, 45fe4ad7f439799ee1b7b5f80bf82e8b34a98d25; 27c5b17cd1b10564fa36f8f51e4b4b41436ecc32 up to, but not including, 648d1150a688698e37f7aaf302860180901cb30e; 27c5b17cd1b10564fa36f8f51e4b4b41436ecc32 up to, but not including, 5d53244186c9ac58cb88d76a0958ca55b83a15cd; and 1 more ranges2bc3d6ac704ea7263175ea3da663fdbbb7f3dd8b, 14b1d00520b4d6a4818364334ce472b79cfc8976, aae45746f4aee9818296e0500e0703e9d8caa5b8, d00b031266514a9395124704630b056a5185ec17, 2353b7bb61e45e7cfd21505d0c6747ac8c9496a1, 45fe4ad7f439799ee1b7b5f80bf82e8b34a98d25
LinuxLinux Kernel4.2 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, 6.1.54; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.5.44.14.326, 4.19.295, 5.4.257, 5.10.195, 5.15.132, 6.1.54

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: mtd: rawnand: brcmnand: Fix potential out-of-bounds access in oob write When the oob buffer length is not in multiple of words, the oob write function does out-of-bounds read on the oob source buffer at the last iteration. Fix that by always checking length limit on the oob buffer read and fill with 0xff when reaching the end of the buffer to the oob registers.

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

References

Recent Out-of-bounds Write vulnerabilities

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