Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-52828

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.10.202 / 5.15.140 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: bpf: Detect IP == ksym.end as part of BPF program Now that bpf_throw kfunc is the first such call instruction that has noreturn semantics within the verifier, this also kicks in dead code elimination in unprecedented ways. For one, any instruction following a bpf_throw call will never be marked as seen. Moreover, if a callchain ends up throwing, any instructions after the call instruction to the eventually throwing subprog in callers will also never be marked as seen. The tempting way to fix this would be to emit extra 'int3' instructions which bump the jited_len of a program, and ensure that during runtime when a program throws, we can discover its boundaries even if the call instruction to bpf_throw (or to subprogs that always throw) is emitted as the final instruction in the program. An example of such a program would be this: do_something(): ... r0 = 0 exit foo(): r1 = 0 call bpf_throw r0 = 0 exit bar(cond): if r1 != 0 goto pc+2 call do_something exit call foo r0 = 0 // Never seen by verifier exit // main(ctx): r1 = ... call bar r0 = 0 exit Here, if we do end up throwing, the stacktrace would be the following: bpf_throw foo bar main In bar, the final instruction emitted will be the call to foo, as such, the return address will be the subsequent instruction (which the JIT emits as int3 on x86). This will end up lying outside the jited_len of the program, thus, when unwinding, we will fail to discover the return address as belonging to any program and end up in a panic due to the unreliable stack unwinding of BPF programs that we never expect. To remedy this case, make bpf_prog_ksym_find treat IP == ksym.end as part of the BPF program, so that is_bpf_text_address returns true when such a case occurs, and we are able to unwind reliably when the final instruction ends up being a call instruction.

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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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:< 5.10.202>= 5.11, < 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
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 5.10.202 / 5.15.140 / 6.1.64 or later
Fixed in 5.10.2025.15.1406.1.64
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 5.10.202+, 5.15.140+, 6.1.64+, or 6.5.13+ depending on the current branch (or latest stable kernel)

  1. Upgrade Linux kernel to a version with the fix: 5.10.202 or later for the 5.10.y branch, 5.15.140 or later for the 5.15.y branch, 6.1.64 or later for the 6.1.y branch, or 6.5.13 or later for the 6.5.y branch
  2. If running a distribution kernel, apply the vendor's kernel update containing the fix commit 327b92e8cb527ae097961ffd1610c720481947f5
  3. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  4. Verify the fix is applied by checking that bpf_prog_ksym_find correctly handles IP == ksym.end (the kernel will now correctly identify return addresses as belonging to BPF programs even when the final instruction is a call to bpf_throw)
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system downtime and should be tested in a staging environment first; ensure all required kernel modules are available for the new 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 $1,600. 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-2023-52828 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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