x86/alternatives: Disable KASAN in apply_alternatives()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/alternatives: Disable KASAN in apply_alternatives() Fei has reported that KASAN triggers during apply_alternatives() on a 5-level paging machine: BUG: KASAN: out-of-bounds in rcu_is_watching() Read of size 4 at addr ff110003ee6419a0 by task swapper/0/0 ... __asan_load4() rcu_is_watching() trace_hardirqs_on() text_poke_early() apply_alternatives() ... On machines with 5-level paging, cpu_feature_enabled(X86_FEATURE_LA57) gets patched. It includes KASAN code, where KASAN_SHADOW_START depends on __VIRTUAL_MASK_SHIFT, which is defined with cpu_feature_enabled(). KASAN gets confused when apply_alternatives() patches the KASAN_SHADOW_START users. A test patch that makes KASAN_SHADOW_START static, by replacing __VIRTUAL_MASK_SHIFT with 56, works around the issue. Fix it for real by disabling KASAN while the kernel is patching alternatives. [ mingo: updated the changelog ]
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
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 | 4.17 and later | 4.19.297, 5.4.270, 5.10.199, 5.15.136, 6.1.59, 6.5.8, 6.6 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.17 and later Fixed in 4.19.297, 5.4.270, 5.10.199, 5.15.136, 6.1.59, 6.5.8, 6.6 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 6
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.17 to before 4.19.297; 4.20 to before 5.4.270; 5.5 to before 5.10.199; 5.11 to before 5.15.136; 5.16 to before 6.1.59; 6.2 to before 6.5.8 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.6 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.6 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.6 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.6 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.6 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.17 to before 4.19.297; 4.20 to before 5.4.270; 5.5 to before 5.10.199; 5.11 to before 5.15.136; 5.16 to before 6.1.59; 6.2 to before 6.5.8 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.6 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.6 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.6 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.6 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.6 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.19.297, 5.4.270, 5.10.199, 5.15.136, 6.1.59, 6.5.8, 6.6
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-52504
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-59mx-6m8m-c99j
References
Patch 7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3719d3c36aa853d5a2401af9f8d6b116c91ad5ae
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3770c38cd6a60494da29ac2da73ff8156440a2d1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6788b10620ca6e98575d1e06e72a8974aad7657e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ecba5afe86f30605eb9dfb7f265a8de0218d4cfc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5b784489c8158518bf7a466bb3cc045b0fb66b4b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cd287cc208dfe6bd6da98e7f88e723209242c9b4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d35652a5fc9944784f6f50a5c979518ff8dacf61
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-2023-52504 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-52504 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-59mx-6m8m-c99j · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2023-52504 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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