Use-after-free in Linux kernel's Performance Events subsystem
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-416 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux Kernel Performance Events system can be exploited to achieve local privilege escalation. The perf_group_detach function did not check the event's siblings' attach_state before calling add_event_to_groups(), but remove_on_exec made it possible to call list_del_event() on before detaching from their group, making it possible to use a dangling pointer causing a use-after-free vulnerability. We recommend upgrading past commit fd0815f632c24878e325821943edccc7fde947a2.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 5.13 to before 6.3 | 6.3 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux Kernel VendorLinux Affected 5.13 to before 6.3 Fixed in 6.3 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.13 to before 5.15.104; 5.16 to before 6.1.21; 6.2 to before 6.2.8 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.13 to before 5.15.104; 5.16 to before 6.1.21; 6.2 to before 6.2.8 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux Kernel (Linux) Fixed in 6.3
Red Hat 8 advisories
- RHSA-2023:5627 Released 2023-10-10 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.8.6) kernel-tools-libs-devel-4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.8.6) bpftool-4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6, kernel-4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6 +19
- Red Hat Virtualization 4 Hypervisor for RHEL 8 kernel-devel-4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6, perf-4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6
- RHSA-2023:4517 Released 2023-08-08 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security and bug fix update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) bpftool-4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8, kernel-4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8 +19
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) kernel-tools-libs-devel-4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8
- RHSA-2023:4541 Released 2023-08-08 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel-rt security and bug fix update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 8) kernel-rt-4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8, kernel-rt-core-4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8, kernel-rt-debug-4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8 +9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 8) kernel-rt-4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8, kernel-rt-core-4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8, kernel-rt-debug-4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8 +7
Show 5 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2023:4137 Released 2023-07-18 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security and bug fix update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.0) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.0) kernel-debug-devel-5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, kernel-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, kernel-devel-5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0 +5
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.9.0) bpftool-5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, kernel-5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, kernel-abi-stablelists-5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0 +14
- RHSA-2023:4138 Released 2023-07-18 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel-rt security and bug fix update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time EUS (v.9.0) kernel-rt-5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0 +7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV EUS (v.9.0) kernel-rt-5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0 +9
- RHSA-2023:3708 Released 2023-06-21 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel-rt security and bug fix update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2 +11
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2 +9
- RHSA-2023:3723 Released 2023-06-21 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security and bug fix update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2 +10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) bpftool-7.0.0-284.18.1.el9_2, kernel-5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, kernel-64k-5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2 +29
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2
- RHSA-2023:3705 Released 2023-06-21 · Red Hat rating Importantkpatch-patch security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) kpatch-patch-5_14_0-284_11_1-1-1.el9_2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:5627 |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:4137 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:3723 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:4137 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:4517 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:3705, RHSA-2023:3723 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:5627 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:4137 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:4517 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:3723 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:4541 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:3708 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:4541 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:3708 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time EUS (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:4138 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV EUS (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:4138 |
| Red Hat Virtualization 4 Hypervisor for RHEL 8 | Fixed | RHSA-2023:5627 |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9)
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-2235
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-hwwj-xrc2-6hxg
References
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
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- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2023-2235 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-2235 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-hwwj-xrc2-6hxg · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2023-2235 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences