tracing: Have trace_event_file have ref counters
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-476.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing: Have trace_event_file have ref counters The following can crash the kernel: # cd /sys/kernel/tracing # echo 'p:sched schedule' > kprobe_events # exec 5>>events/kprobes/sched/enable # > kprobe_events # exec 5>&- The above commands: 1. Change directory to the tracefs directory 2. Create a kprobe event (doesn't matter what one) 3. Open bash file descriptor 5 on the enable file of the kprobe event 4. Delete the kprobe event (removes the files too) 5. Close the bash file descriptor 5 The above causes a crash! BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000028 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP PTI CPU: 6 PID: 877 Comm: bash Not tainted 6.5.0-rc4-test-00008-g2c6b6b1029d4-dirty #186 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.2-debian-1.16.2-1 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:tracing_release_file_tr+0xc/0x50 What happens here is that the kprobe event creates a trace_event_file "file" descriptor that represents the file in tracefs to the event. It maintains state of the event (is it enabled for the given instance?). Opening the "enable" file gets a reference to the event "file" descriptor via the open file descriptor. When the kprobe event is deleted, the file is also deleted from the tracefs system which also frees the event "file" descriptor. But as the tracefs file is still opened by user space, it will not be totally removed until the final dput() is called on it. But this is not true with the event "file" descriptor that is already freed. If the user does a write to or simply closes the file descriptor it will reference the event "file" descriptor that was just freed, causing a use-after-free bug. To solve this, add a ref count to the event "file" descriptor as well as a new flag called "FREED". The "file" will not be freed until the last reference is released. But the FREE flag will be set when the event is removed to prevent any more modifications to that event from happening, even if there's still a reference to the event "file" descriptor.
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 | 5.4.258 to before 5.4.262; 5.10.198 to before 5.10.202; 5.15.134 to before 5.15.140; 6.1.55 to before 6.1.64; 6.5.5 to before 6.5.13 | 5.4.262, 5.10.202, 5.15.140, 6.1.64, 6.5.13 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 6.6 and later | 5.4.262, 5.10.202, 5.15.140, 6.1.64, 6.5.13, 6.6.1, 6.7 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.4.258 to before 5.4.262; 5.10.198 to before 5.10.202; 5.15.134 to before 5.15.140; 6.1.55 to before 6.1.64; 6.5.5 to before 6.5.13 Fixed in 5.4.262, 5.10.202, 5.15.140, 6.1.64, 6.5.13 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.6 and later Fixed in 5.4.262, 5.10.202, 5.15.140, 6.1.64, 6.5.13, 6.6.1, 6.7 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.4.258 to before 5.4.262; 5.10.198 to before 5.10.202; 5.15.134 to before 5.15.140; 6.1.55 to before 6.1.64; 6.5.5 to before 6.5.13; 6.6 to before 6.6.1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.4.258 to before 5.4.262; 5.10.198 to before 5.10.202; 5.15.134 to before 5.15.140; 6.1.55 to before 6.1.64; 6.5.5 to before 6.5.13; 6.6 to before 6.6.1 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.4.262, 5.10.202, 5.15.140, 6.1.64, 6.5.13
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.4.262, 5.10.202, 5.15.140, 6.1.64, 6.5.13, 6.6.1, 6.7
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-52879
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-8j5h-5p5c-hg7m
References
Patch 7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/961c4511c7578d6b8f39118be919016ec3db1c1e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a98172e36e5f1b3d29ad71fade2d611cfcc2fe6f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cbc7c29dff0fa18162f2a3889d82eeefd67305e0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2fa74d29fc1899c237d51bf9a6e132ea5c488976
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2c9de867ca285c397cd71af703763fe416265706
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9034c87d61be8cff989017740a91701ac8195a1d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bb32500fb9b78215e4ef6ee8b4345c5f5d7eafb4
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-2023-52879 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-52879 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-8j5h-5p5c-hg7m · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2023-52879 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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