CVE-2023-52501·Kernel vulnerability
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ring-buffer: Do not attempt to read past "commit" When iterating over the ring buffer while the ring buffer is active, the writer can corrupt the reader. There's barriers to help detect this and handle it, but that code missed the case where the last event was at the very end of the page and has only 4 bytes left. The checks to detect the corruption by the writer to reads needs to see the length of the event. If the length in the first 4 bytes is zero then the length is stored in the second 4 bytes. But if the writer is in the process of updating that code, there's a small window where the length in the first 4 bytes could be zero even though the length is only 4 bytes. That will cause rb_event_length() to read the next 4 bytes which could happen to be off the allocated page. To protect against this, fail immediately if the next event pointer is less than 8 bytes from the end of the commit (last byte of data), as all events must be a minimum of 8 bytes anyway.
- Severity
- high
- Software
- Kernel
- Fixed in
- 5.15.134
- Published
- 2024-03-02
Affected versions
From: 6.2
Until: 6.5.6
Fixed in: 5.15.134
How to fix this CVE
Update the Linux kernel to version 5.15.134 or later to resolve a ring buffer memory access vulnerability that can cause data corruption when the buffer is actively written to by concurrent processes. Systems running kernel versions 6.2 through 6.5.6 should prioritize this update as they contain the defective code. After patching, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel.
sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel && sudo rebootDefensia detects this vulnerability
How to check if you are affected
- Check your current kernel version: uname -r
- Compare against vulnerable range (6.2.x to 6.5.6); if in range or between 5.15.x and 5.15.133, system is vulnerable
- Monitor dmesg and /var/log/kern.log for messages containing 'ring buffer' or 'corruption' warnings that may indicate attempted exploitation
- After applying the patch, verify the new kernel is loaded: uname -r should show version 5.15.134 or later, and confirm reboot completed successfully
FAQ
What is CVE-2023-52501?
CVE-2023-52501 is a kernel ring buffer vulnerability where concurrent read and write operations can cause memory access violations. When a write operation updates the ring buffer near a page boundary, a reader thread may attempt to access memory beyond the allocated buffer if event length metadata is being updated, leading to potential data corruption or system instability.
Is CVE-2023-52501 being actively exploited?
No. CVE-2023-52501 is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog and no public exploits are available. This is primarily a stability and data integrity issue rather than a remotely exploitable security flaw.
What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2023-52501?
Linux kernel versions 6.2.x through 6.5.6 are affected. Additionally, stable branch versions 5.15.x up to 5.15.133 contain the vulnerable code. Version 5.15.134 and later stable releases contain the fix.
How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2023-52501?
Run 'uname -r' to display your kernel version. If the output shows a version between 6.2 and 6.5.6, or between 5.15.0 and 5.15.133, your system is vulnerable and requires immediate patching.
Does Defensia detect CVE-2023-52501?
Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If Kernel is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2023-52501 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.
Related Kernel CVEs
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/344f2f3e61a90f0150c754796ec9a17fcaeec03d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/75fc9e99b3a71006720ad1e029db11a4b5c32d4a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/95a404bd60af6c4d9d8db01ad14fe8957ece31ca
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b08a4938229dbb530a35c41b83002a1457c6ff49
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cee5151c5410e868826b8afecfb356f3799ebea3
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