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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-52772

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.15.140 / 6.1.64 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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: 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---

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-416

Memory 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
Affected:>= 5.15, < 5.15.140>= 5.16, < 6.1.64>= 6.2, < 6.5.13>= 6.6, < 6.6.3

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.15.140 / 6.1.64 / 6.5.13 or later
Fixed in 5.15.1406.1.646.5.13
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 5.15.140+, 6.1.64+, 6.5.13+, or 6.6.3+ (depending on your current branch)

  1. Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. Determine which version range your current kernel falls into based on the affected versions: >= 5.15, < 5.15.140; >= 5.16, < 6.1.64; >= 6.2, < 6.5.13; or >= 6.6, < 6.6.3
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to the first fixed version in your version branch: For 5.15.x series, upgrade to 5.15.140 or later; For 5.16.x through 6.1.x series, upgrade to 6.1.64 or later; For 6.2.x through 6.5.x series, upgrade to 6.5.13 or later; For 6.6.x series, upgrade to 6.6.3 or later
  4. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
  5. Verify the new kernel version is running with 'uname -r'
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuild of out-of-tree kernel modules; ensure compatibility with system hardware and critical software before upgrading in production

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 $3,200. 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-2023-52772 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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