Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2023-52447
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Defer the free of inner map when necessary When updating or deleting an inner map in map array or map htab, the map may still be accessed by non-sleepable program or sleepable program. However bpf_map_fd_put_ptr() decreases the ref-counter of the inner map directly through bpf_map_put(), if the ref-counter is the last one (which is true for most cases), the inner map will be freed by ops->map_free() in a kworker. But for now, most .map_free() callbacks don't use synchronize_rcu() or its variants to wait for the elapse of a RCU grace period, so after the invocation of ops->map_free completes, the bpf program which is accessing the inner map may incur use-after-free problem. Fix the free of inner map by invoking bpf_map_free_deferred() after both one RCU grace period and one tasks trace RCU grace period if the inner map has been removed from the outer map before. The deferment is accomplished by using call_rcu() or call_rcu_tasks_trace() when releasing the last ref-counter of bpf map. The newly-added rcu_head field in bpf_map shares the same storage space with work field to reduce the size of bpf_map.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysisMemory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.
General guidance for the use after free class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
>= 5.9.0, < 5.10.214>= 5.11, < 5.15.153>= 5.16, < 6.1.75>= 6.2, < 6.6.14>= 6.7, < 6.7.2CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped5.10.2145.15.1536.1.75
5.10.214, 5.15.153, 6.1.75, or 6.6.14 (or later stable releases)
- Upgrade the Linux kernel to a fixed version: 5.10.214, 5.15.153, 6.1.75, or 6.6.14 (or later stable release)
- After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
- Verify the running kernel version matches the fixed release using 'uname -r'
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-52447 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-52447 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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