high CVSS 7.8

CVE-2023-52772·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: af_unix: fix use-after-free in unix_stream_read_actor() syzbot reported the following crash [1] After releasing unix socket lock, u->oob_skb can be changed by another thread. We must temporarily increase skb refcount to make sure this other thread will not free the skb under us. [1] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in unix_stream_read_actor+0xa7/0xc0 net/unix/af_unix.c:2866 Read of size 4 at addr ffff88801f3b9cc4 by task syz-executor107/5297 CPU: 1 PID: 5297 Comm: syz-executor107 Not tainted 6.6.0-syzkaller-15910-gb8e3a87a627b #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 10/09/2023 Call Trace: <TASK> __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0xd9/0x1b0 lib/dump_stack.c:106 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:364 [inline] print_report+0xc4/0x620 mm/kasan/report.c:475 kasan_report+0xda/0x110 mm/kasan/report.c:588 unix_stream_read_actor+0xa7/0xc0 net/unix/af_unix.c:2866 unix_stream_recv_urg net/unix/af_unix.c:2587 [inline] unix_stream_read_generic+0x19a5/0x2480 net/unix/af_unix.c:2666 unix_stream_recvmsg+0x189/0x1b0 net/unix/af_unix.c:2903 sock_recvmsg_nosec net/socket.c:1044 [inline] sock_recvmsg+0xe2/0x170 net/socket.c:1066 ____sys_recvmsg+0x21f/0x5c0 net/socket.c:2803 ___sys_recvmsg+0x115/0x1a0 net/socket.c:2845 __sys_recvmsg+0x114/0x1e0 net/socket.c:2875 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:51 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x3f/0x110 arch/x86/entry/common.c:82 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0x6b RIP: 0033:0x7fc67492c559 Code: 28 00 00 00 75 05 48 83 c4 28 c3 e8 51 18 00 00 90 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 c7 c1 b0 ff ff ff f7 d8 64 89 01 48 RSP: 002b:00007fc6748ab228 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 000000000000002f RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 000000000000001c RCX: 00007fc67492c559 RDX: 0000000040010083 RSI: 0000000020000140 RDI: 0000000000000004 RBP: 00007fc6749b6348 R08: 00007fc6748ab6c0 R09: 00007fc6748ab6c0 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 00007fc6749b6340 R13: 00007fc6749b634c R14: 00007ffe9fac52a0 R15: 00007ffe9fac5388 </TASK> Allocated by task 5295: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x50 mm/kasan/common.c:45 kasan_set_track+0x25/0x30 mm/kasan/common.c:52 __kasan_slab_alloc+0x81/0x90 mm/kasan/common.c:328 kasan_slab_alloc include/linux/kasan.h:188 [inline] slab_post_alloc_hook mm/slab.h:763 [inline] slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:3478 [inline] kmem_cache_alloc_node+0x180/0x3c0 mm/slub.c:3523 __alloc_skb+0x287/0x330 net/core/skbuff.c:641 alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1286 [inline] alloc_skb_with_frags+0xe4/0x710 net/core/skbuff.c:6331 sock_alloc_send_pskb+0x7e4/0x970 net/core/sock.c:2780 sock_alloc_send_skb include/net/sock.h:1884 [inline] queue_oob net/unix/af_unix.c:2147 [inline] unix_stream_sendmsg+0xb5f/0x10a0 net/unix/af_unix.c:2301 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:730 [inline] __sock_sendmsg+0xd5/0x180 net/socket.c:745 ____sys_sendmsg+0x6ac/0x940 net/socket.c:2584 ___sys_sendmsg+0x135/0x1d0 net/socket.c:2638 __sys_sendmsg+0x117/0x1e0 net/socket.c:2667 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:51 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x3f/0x110 arch/x86/entry/common.c:82 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0x6b Freed by task 5295: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x50 mm/kasan/common.c:45 kasan_set_track+0x25/0x30 mm/kasan/common.c:52 kasan_save_free_info+0x2b/0x40 mm/kasan/generic.c:522 ____kasan_slab_free mm/kasan/common.c:236 [inline] ____kasan_slab_free+0x15b/0x1b0 mm/kasan/common.c:200 kasan_slab_free include/linux/kasan.h:164 [inline] slab_free_hook mm/slub.c:1800 [inline] slab_free_freelist_hook+0x114/0x1e0 mm/slub.c:1826 slab_free mm/slub.c:3809 [inline] kmem_cache_free+0xf8/0x340 mm/slub.c:3831 kfree_skbmem+0xef/0x1b0 net/core/skbuff.c:1015 __kfree_skb net/core/skbuff.c:1073 [inline] consume_skb net/core/skbuff.c:1288 [inline] consume_skb+0xdf/0x170 net/core/skbuff.c:1282 queue_oob net/unix/af_unix.c:2178 [inline] u ---truncated---

Severity
high
Software
Kernel
Fixed in
6.6.3
Published
2024-05-21

Affected versions

From: 6.6

Until: 6.6.3

Fixed in: 6.6.3

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 6.6.3 or later to resolve a use-after-free vulnerability in the Unix domain socket implementation. This memory safety issue affects kernel versions 6.6 through 6.6.2 and can be exploited through concurrent socket operations. Apply the patch immediately to prevent potential local privilege escalation and system instability.

sudo dnf check-update kernel && sudo dnf update kernel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Step 1: Check your current kernel version by running `uname -r` and verify if it falls within 6.6.0 to 6.6.2
  2. Step 2: Verify if Unix domain sockets are in use on your system by checking active sockets with `ss -x --all` or `netstat -x`
  3. Step 3: Search system logs for KASAN warnings or memory corruption messages using `dmesg | grep -i 'kasan\|use-after-free' | tail -50`
  4. Step 4: After patching, confirm the new kernel version with `uname -r` and ensure it displays 6.6.3 or later, then verify socket stability with stress testing using `ss -x --all` repeatedly

FAQ

What is CVE-2023-52772?

CVE-2023-52772 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Unix domain socket implementation. When multiple threads access out-of-band data on Unix sockets concurrently, a race condition can cause one thread to access socket buffer memory that another thread has already freed, leading to memory corruption.

Is CVE-2023-52772 being actively exploited?

No, according to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, CVE-2023-52772 is not currently being actively exploited in the wild, and no public exploits are available.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2023-52772?

Linux kernel versions 6.6.0 through 6.6.2 are affected by this vulnerability. Version 6.6.3 and later contain the necessary fixes.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2023-52772?

Run `uname -r` to check your kernel version. If it shows a version between 6.6.0 and 6.6.2 (inclusive), your system is vulnerable. You can also check `cat /proc/version` for more detailed kernel build information.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2023-52772?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If the Linux kernel is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2023-52772 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.

Related Kernel CVEs

CVE-2026-100075CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/srpt: Fix srpt_alloc_rw_ctxs() unwind counters When srpt_alloc_rw_ctxs() fails partway through a multi-buffer indirect descriptor, the unwind path destroys RDMA contexts but leaves stale n_rw_ctx and n_rdma values (and a dangling rw_ctxs pointer). Later sq_wr_avail accounting in srpt_queue_response() or srpt_write_pending() can then subtract the wrong number of send queue credits. Reset the counters and clear rw_ctxs after freeing the heap allocation before returning an error.
CVE-2026-64397CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: serialize QUERY_DIRECTORY requests per file smb2_query_dir() stores a pointer to its stack-allocated private data in the ksmbd_file readdir_data. Concurrent QUERY_DIRECTORY requests using the same file handle can overwrite this pointer while an iterate_dir() callback is still using it, resulting in a stack use-after-free. Add a per-file mutex and hold it while accessing the shared directory enumeration state. The lock covers scan restart, dot entry state, readdir_data setup and iteration, and response construction. This prevents another request from replacing readdir_data.private before the current request has finished using it and also serializes the shared file position.
CVE-2026-64399CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: add permission checks for FSCTL_DUPLICATE_EXTENTS_TO_FILE The FSCTL_DUPLICATE_EXTENTS_TO_FILE arm of smb2_ioctl() overwrites the destination file's data via vfs_clone_file_range() with neither the share-level KSMBD_TREE_CONN_FLAG_WRITABLE check nor a per-handle fp->daccess check that the other write-bearing arms carry. A client can overwrite destination data on a read-only share, or from a handle opened with only FILE_WRITE_ATTRIBUTES (which still yields an FMODE_WRITE filp). FILE_WRITE_ATTRIBUTES-only destination handle overwrote the file's data via the clone. Add both checks, matching the FSCTL_SET_SPARSE permission fix; require FILE_WRITE_DATA since this writes data.
CVE-2026-64066CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfs: Fix netfs_read_to_pagecache() to pause on subreq failure Fix netfs_read_to_pagecache() so that it pauses the generation of new subrequests if an already-issued subrequest fails.
CVE-2026-52924CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: purge outqueue on stale COOKIE-ECHO handling sctp_stream_update() is only invoked when the association is moved into COOKIE_WAIT during association setup/reconfiguration. In this path, the outbound stream scheduler state (stream->out_curr) is expected to be clean, since no user data should have been transmitted yet unless the state machine has already partially progressed. However, a corner case exists in sctp_sf_do_5_2_6_stale(): when a Stale Cookie ERROR is received, the association is rolled back from COOKIE_ECHOED to COOKIE_WAIT. In this scenario, user data may already have been queued and even bundled with the COOKIE-ECHO chunk. During the rollback, sctp_stream_update() frees the old stream table and installs a new one, but it does not invalidate stream->out_curr. As a result, out_curr may still point to a freed sctp_stream_out entry from the previous stream state. Later, SCTP scheduler dequeue paths (FCFS, RR, PRIO, etc.) rely on stream->out_curr->ext, which can lead to use-after-free once the old stream state has been released via sctp_stream_free(). This results in crashes such as (reported by Yuqi): BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in sctp_sched_fcfs_dequeue+0x13a/0x140 Read of size 8 at addr ff1100004d4d3208 by task mini_poc/9312 CPU: 1 UID: 1001 PID: 9312 Comm: mini_poc Not tainted 7.1.0-rc1-00305-gbd3a4795d574 #5 PREEMPT(full) sctp_sched_fcfs_dequeue+0x13a/0x140 sctp_outq_flush+0x1603/0x33e0 sctp_do_sm+0x31c9/0x5d30 sctp_assoc_bh_rcv+0x392/0x6f0 sctp_inq_push+0x1db/0x270 sctp_rcv+0x138d/0x3c10 Fix this by fully purging the association outqueue when handling the Stale Cookie case. This ensures all pending transmit and retransmit state is dropped, and any scheduler cached pointers are invalidated, making it safe to rebuild stream state during COOKIE_WAIT restart. Updating only stream->out_curr would be insufficient, since queued and retransmittable data would still reference the old stream state and trigger later use-after-free in dequeue paths.

References

Track CVEs across your fleet automatically

Defensia scans your Linux servers and tells you exactly which ones are running vulnerable versions — including CVE-2023-52772. Free for 1 server.

Get started free