Use-After-Free in Linux kernel (CVE-2023-52438)
Summary
Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2023-52438). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
binder: fix use-after-free in shinker's callback
The mmap read lock is used during the shrinker's callback, which means
that using alloc->vma pointer isn't safe as it can race with munmap().
As of commit dd2283f2605e ("mm: mmap: zap pages with read mmap_sem in
munmap") the mmap lock is downgraded after the vma has been isolated.
I was able to reproduce this issue by manually adding some delays and
triggering page reclaiming through the shrinker's debug sysfs. The
following KASAN report confirms the UAF:
==================================================================
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in zap_page_range_single+0x470/0x4b8
Read of size 8 at addr ffff356ed50e50f0 by task bash/478
CPU: 1 PID: 478 Comm: bash Not tainted 6.6.0-rc5-00055-g1c8b86a3799f-dirty #70
Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT)
Call trace:
zap_page_range_single+0x470/0x4b8
binder_alloc_free_page+0x608/0xadc
__list_lru_walk_one+0x130/0x3b0
list_lru_walk_node+0xc4/0x22c
binder_shrink_scan+0x108/0x1dc
shrinker_debugfs_scan_write+0x2b4/0x500
full_proxy_write+0xd4/0x140
vfs_write+0x1ac/0x758
ksys_write+0xf0/0x1dc
__arm64_sys_write+0x6c/0x9c
Allocated by task 492:
kmem_cache_alloc+0x130/0x368
vm_area_alloc+0x2c/0x190
mmap_region+0x258/0x18bc
do_mmap+0x694/0xa60
vm_mmap_pgoff+0x170/0x29c
ksys_mmap_pgoff+0x290/0x3a0
__arm64_sys_mmap+0xcc/0x144
Freed by task 491:…
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2023-52438 has been found in Linux kernel.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. CVSS score: 7.8/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Linux kernel CVE-2023-52438" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2023-52438 (Linux kernel) — CWE-416 / CVSS v3 7.8
Attack vector: local / no user interaction
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
Use-after-free (CWE-416) exists in Linux kernel.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Linux kernel.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.8/10). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Audit SBOM/dependencies to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
Audit SBOM/dependencies for affected components.資産台帳・SBOM・依存マニフェストで Linux kernel を使っているサービスとバージョンを洗い出す。
-
2Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Affected packages
Fix status by distribution
Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE
- Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52438 linux Fixed in: 5.10.209-1
- Ubuntu UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52438 linux-hwe-edge
References
- advisory github.com
- advisory nvd.nist.gov
- package git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web lists.debian.org