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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-52570

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-03-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.56 / 6.5.6 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

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 · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vfio/mdev: Fix a null-ptr-deref bug for mdev_unregister_parent() Inject fault while probing mdpy.ko, if kstrdup() of create_dir() fails in kobject_add_internal() in kobject_init_and_add() in mdev_type_add() in parent_create_sysfs_files(), it will return 0 and probe successfully. And when rmmod mdpy.ko, the mdpy_dev_exit() will call mdev_unregister_parent(), the mdev_type_remove() may traverse uninitialized parent->types[i] in parent_remove_sysfs_files(), and it will cause below null-ptr-deref. If mdev_type_add() fails, return the error code and kset_unregister() to fix the issue. general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc0000000002: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000010-0x0000000000000017] CPU: 2 PID: 10215 Comm: rmmod Tainted: G W N 6.6.0-rc2+ #20 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.15.0-1 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:__kobject_del+0x62/0x1c0 Code: 48 89 fa 48 c1 ea 03 80 3c 02 00 0f 85 51 01 00 00 48 b8 00 00 00 00 00 fc ff df 48 8b 6b 28 48 8d 7d 10 48 89 fa 48 c1 ea 03 <80> 3c 02 00 0f 85 24 01 00 00 48 8b 75 10 48 89 df 48 8d 6b 3c e8 RSP: 0018:ffff88810695fd30 EFLAGS: 00010202 RAX: dffffc0000000000 RBX: ffffffffa0270268 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000002 RSI: 0000000000000004 RDI: 0000000000000010 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: ffffed10233a4ef1 R10: ffff888119d2778b R11: 0000000063666572 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: fffffbfff404e2d4 R14: dffffc0000000000 R15: ffffffffa0271660 FS: 00007fbc81981540(0000) GS:ffff888119d00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007fc14a142dc0 CR3: 0000000110a62003 CR4: 0000000000770ee0 DR0: ffffffff8fb0bce8 DR1: ffffffff8fb0bce9 DR2: ffffffff8fb0bcea DR3: ffffffff8fb0bceb DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000600 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: <TASK> ? die_addr+0x3d/0xa0 ? exc_general_protection+0x144/0x220 ? asm_exc_general_protection+0x22/0x30 ? __kobject_del+0x62/0x1c0 kobject_del+0x32/0x50 parent_remove_sysfs_files+0xd6/0x170 [mdev] mdev_unregister_parent+0xfb/0x190 [mdev] ? mdev_register_parent+0x270/0x270 [mdev] ? find_module_all+0x9d/0xe0 mdpy_dev_exit+0x17/0x63 [mdpy] __do_sys_delete_module.constprop.0+0x2fa/0x4b0 ? module_flags+0x300/0x300 ? __fput+0x4e7/0xa00 do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0 RIP: 0033:0x7fbc813221b7 Code: 73 01 c3 48 8b 0d d1 8c 2c 00 f7 d8 64 89 01 48 83 c8 ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 44 00 00 b8 b0 00 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 8b 0d a1 8c 2c 00 f7 d8 64 89 01 48 RSP: 002b:00007ffe780e0648 EFLAGS: 00000206 ORIG_RAX: 00000000000000b0 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007ffe780e06a8 RCX: 00007fbc813221b7 RDX: 000000000000000a RSI: 0000000000000800 RDI: 000055e214df9b58 RBP: 000055e214df9af0 R08: 00007ffe780df5c1 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 00007fbc8139ecc0 R11: 0000000000000206 R12: 00007ffe780e0870 R13: 00007ffe780e0ed0 R14: 000055e214df9260 R15: 000055e214df9af0 </TASK> Modules linked in: mdpy(-) mdev vfio_iommu_type1 vfio [last unloaded: mdpy] Dumping ftrace buffer: (ftrace buffer empty) ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- RIP: 0010:__kobject_del+0x62/0x1c0 Code: 48 89 fa 48 c1 ea 03 80 3c 02 00 0f 85 51 01 00 00 48 b8 00 00 00 00 00 fc ff df 48 8b 6b 28 48 8d 7d 10 48 89 fa 48 c1 ea 03 <80> 3c 02 00 0f 85 24 01 00 00 48 8b 75 10 48 89 df 48 8d 6b 3c e8 RSP: 0018:ffff88810695fd30 EFLAGS: 00010202 RAX: dffffc0000000000 RBX: ffffffffa0270268 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000002 RSI: 0000000000000004 RDI: 0000000000000010 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: ffffed10233a4ef1 R10: ffff888119d2778b R11: 0000000063666572 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: fffffbfff404e2d4 R14: dffffc0000000000 R15: ffffffffa0271660 FS: 00007fbc81981540(0000) GS:ffff888119d00000(000 ---truncated---

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 analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-476

The code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.

General guidance for the null pointer dereference 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
Affected:>= 6.1, < 6.1.56>= 6.2, < 6.5.6= 6.6

CVSS 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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.1.56 / 6.5.6 or later
Fixed in 6.1.566.5.6
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

kernel 6.1.56 (or 6.5.6/6.6.1 or later, or latest stable kernel)

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. If running a kernel in the affected range (6.1.x < 6.1.56, 6.2.x < 6.5.6, or 6.6.x), plan for a kernel upgrade
  3. Obtain a kernel package from your distribution's official repositories that includes the fix (kernel 6.1.56+, 6.5.6+, or 6.6.1+)
  4. Schedule a maintenance window for the kernel upgrade
  5. Back up critical data before proceeding
  6. Install the new kernel package following your distribution's standard procedures
  7. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  8. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version with `uname -r` and confirming it is >= the fixed version
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding third-party kernel modules; ensure compatible drivers are available for the new kernel version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $2,850. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-52570 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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