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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-52999

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.19.272 / 5.4.231 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: net: fix UaF in netns ops registration error path If net_assign_generic() fails, the current error path in ops_init() tries to clear the gen pointer slot. Anyway, in such error path, the gen pointer itself has not been modified yet, and the existing and accessed one is smaller than the accessed index, causing an out-of-bounds error: BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in ops_init+0x2de/0x320 Write of size 8 at addr ffff888109124978 by task modprobe/1018 CPU: 2 PID: 1018 Comm: modprobe Not tainted 6.2.0-rc2.mptcp_ae5ac65fbed5+ #1641 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.1-2.fc37 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x6a/0x9f print_address_description.constprop.0+0x86/0x2b5 print_report+0x11b/0x1fb kasan_report+0x87/0xc0 ops_init+0x2de/0x320 register_pernet_operations+0x2e4/0x750 register_pernet_subsys+0x24/0x40 tcf_register_action+0x9f/0x560 do_one_initcall+0xf9/0x570 do_init_module+0x190/0x650 load_module+0x1fa5/0x23c0 __do_sys_finit_module+0x10d/0x1b0 do_syscall_64+0x58/0x80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x72/0xdc RIP: 0033:0x7f42518f778d Code: 00 c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 90 f3 0f 1e fa 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 8b 0d cb 56 2c 00 f7 d8 64 89 01 48 RSP: 002b:00007fff96869688 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000139 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00005568ef7f7c90 RCX: 00007f42518f778d RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 00005568ef41d796 RDI: 0000000000000003 RBP: 00005568ef41d796 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000003 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 00005568ef7f7d30 R14: 0000000000040000 R15: 0000000000000000 </TASK> This change addresses the issue by skipping the gen pointer de-reference in the mentioned error-path. Found by code inspection and verified with explicit error injection on a kasan-enabled kernel.

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:>= 4.19.264, < 4.19.272>= 5.4.223, < 5.4.231>= 5.10.153, < 5.10.166>= 5.15.77, < 5.15.91>= 6.1, < 6.1.9>= 6.1, < 6.2= 6.0.7= 6.2

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 4.19.272 / 5.4.231 / 5.10.166 or later
Fixed in 4.19.2725.4.2315.10.166
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 4.19.272+ (for 4.19.x), 5.4.231+ (for 5.4.x), 5.10.166+ (for 5.10.x), or 5.15.91+ (for 5.15.x) depending on your current branch

  1. 1. Check the current running kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
  2. 2. Determine which version branch your current kernel is on (4.19.x, 5.4.x, 5.10.x, or 5.15.x)
  3. 3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to the fixed version for your branch: for 4.19.x upgrade to 4.19.272 or later, for 5.4.x upgrade to 5.4.231 or later, for 5.10.x upgrade to 5.10.166 or later, for 5.15.x upgrade to 5.15.91 or later
  4. 4. Use your distribution's package manager to install the updated kernel package (e.g., apt-get update && apt-get install linux-image-<version>, yum update kernel, or dnf update kernel)
  5. 5. Update bootloader configuration if necessary (e.g., update-grub or edit /boot/grub/grub.conf)
  6. 6. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require reboot and could have compatibility implications with proprietary kernel modules or specific hardware drivers; test in staging before production deployment

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-2023-52999 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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