CVE-2023-33288

What it actually does

Use-after-free in bq24190_remove due to a race condition during charger device removal allows a local process to trigger a kernel crash.

Why it matters to the business

Local users can force repeated system reboots or crashes on affected Linux systems, causing denial of service and operational downtime; the issue is limited to specific charger hardware on Alpine Xen environments and has not been observed in widespread exploitation.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local access loads or unloads the bq24190 charger module while concurrently triggering device removal operations, winning the race to access freed memory and causing a kernel panic; no named threat actors have been observed exploiting this race.

How to fix it

Upgrade the Xen package on Alpine v3.15 to version 4.15.5-r2 or later; apply the upstream Linux kernel fix present since 6.2.9; reboot after package installation.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm the running kernel is at least 6.2.9 or the Xen package is 4.15.5-r2 or newer; attempt to reproduce the race under controlled conditions to verify absence of panic.

Typical attack path

1. Obtain local user access on an affected Alpine Xen system
2. Identify or trigger conditions that invoke bq24190_remove concurrently with module unload or device events
3. Win the race condition to dereference the freed object and induce kernel panic

How to detect it

Review kernel logs for oops or panic entries mentioning bq24190_remove or bq24190_charger.c around the time of unexpected reboots; no remote network indicators exist.

What your security team should do

• Prioritize patching Alpine Xen systems to 4.15.5-r2 within standard maintenance windows
• Restrict local unprivileged access on systems using the bq24190 charger driver until patched
• Monitor for kernel oops or panic logs referencing bq24190_charger.c