bpf: Fix pointer-leak due to insufficient speculative store bypass mitigation
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Fix pointer-leak due to insufficient speculative store bypass mitigation To mitigate Spectre v4, 2039f26f3aca ("bpf: Fix leakage due to insufficient speculative store bypass mitigation") inserts lfence instructions after 1) initializing a stack slot and 2) spilling a pointer to the stack. However, this does not cover cases where a stack slot is first initialized with a pointer (subject to sanitization) but then overwritten with a scalar (not subject to sanitization because the slot was already initialized). In this case, the second write may be subject to speculative store bypass (SSB) creating a speculative pointer-as-scalar type confusion. This allows the program to subsequently leak the numerical pointer value using, for example, a branch-based cache side channel. To fix this, also sanitize scalars if they write a stack slot that previously contained a pointer. Assuming that pointer-spills are only generated by LLVM on register-pressure, the performance impact on most real-world BPF programs should be small. The following unprivileged BPF bytecode drafts a minimal exploit and the mitigation: [...] // r6 = 0 or 1 (skalar, unknown user input) // r7 = accessible ptr for side channel // r10 = frame pointer (fp), to be leaked // r9 = r10 # fp alias to encourage ssb *(u64 *)(r9 - 8) = r10 // fp[-8] = ptr, to be leaked // lfence added here because of pointer spill to stack. // // Ommitted: Dummy bpf_ringbuf_output() here to train alias predictor // for no r9-r10 dependency. // *(u64 *)(r10 - 8) = r6 // fp[-8] = scalar, overwrites ptr // 2039f26f3aca: no lfence added because stack slot was not STACK_INVALID, // store may be subject to SSB // // fix: also add an lfence when the slot contained a ptr // r8 = *(u64 *)(r9 - 8) // r8 = architecturally a scalar, speculatively a ptr // // leak ptr using branch-based cache side channel: r8 &= 1 // choose bit to leak if r8 == 0 goto SLOW // no mispredict // architecturally dead code if input r6 is 0, // only executes speculatively iff ptr bit is 1 r8 = *(u64 *)(r7 + 0) # encode bit in cache (0: slow, 1: fast) SLOW: [...] After running this, the program can time the access to *(r7 + 0) to determine whether the chosen pointer bit was 0 or 1. Repeat this 64 times to recover the whole address on amd64. In summary, sanitization can only be skipped if one scalar is overwritten with another scalar. Scalar-confusion due to speculative store bypass can not lead to invalid accesses because the pointer bounds deducted during verification are enforced using branchless logic. See 979d63d50c0c ("bpf: prevent out of bounds speculation on pointer arithmetic") for details. Do not make the mitigation depend on !env->allow_{uninit_stack,ptr_leaks} because speculative leaks are likely unexpected if these were enabled. For example, leaking the address to a protected log file may be acceptable while disabling the mitigation might unintentionally leak the address into the cached-state of a map that is accessible to unprivileged processes.
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 | 4.19.207 to before 4.19.272; 5.4.146 to before 5.4.231; 5.10.56 to before 5.10.166; 5.13.8 to before 5.14 | 4.19.272, 5.4.231, 5.10.166, 5.14 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 5.14 and later | 4.19.272, 5.4.231, 5.10.166, 5.15.91, 6.1.9, 6.2 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.19.207 to before 4.19.272; 5.4.146 to before 5.4.231; 5.10.56 to before 5.10.166; 5.13.8 to before 5.14 Fixed in 4.19.272, 5.4.231, 5.10.166, 5.14 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.14 and later Fixed in 4.19.272, 5.4.231, 5.10.166, 5.15.91, 6.1.9, 6.2 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 10
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.19.207 to before 4.19.272; 5.4.146 to before 5.4.231; 5.10.56 to before 5.10.166; 5.13.8 to before 5.14; 5.14.1 to before 5.15.91; 5.16 to before 6.1.9 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.14:-:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.14 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.14:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.14 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.14:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.14 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.14:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.14 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.14:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.14 rc7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.2 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.2 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.2 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.2 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.19.207 to before 4.19.272; 5.4.146 to before 5.4.231; 5.10.56 to before 5.10.166; 5.13.8 to before 5.14; 5.14.1 to before 5.15.91; 5.16 to before 6.1.9 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.14:-:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.14 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.14:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.14 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.14:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.14 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.14:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.14 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.14:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.14 rc7 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.2 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.2 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.2 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.2 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.19.272, 5.4.231, 5.10.166, 5.14
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.19.272, 5.4.231, 5.10.166, 5.15.91, 6.1.9, 6.2
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2023:6583 Released 2023-11-07 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, libperf-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 +11
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) bpftool-7.2.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-64k-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 +29
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 +9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 +11
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-53024
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-mqh3-5x68-9v64
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aae109414a57ab4164218f36e2e4a17f027fcaaa
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/81b3374944d201872cfcf82730a7860f8e7c31dd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/da75dec7c6617bddad418159ffebcb133f008262
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/01bdcc73dbe7be3ad4d4ee9a59b71e42f461a528
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b0c89ef025562161242a7c19b213bd6b272e93df
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e4f4db47794c9f474b184ee1418f42e6a07412b6
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- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2023-53024 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-53024 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-mqh3-5x68-9v64 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2023-53024 · 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