Cloudanix VulnDB

CVE-2023-52438

High · 7.8

CVSS

7.8

EPSS

0.3%

Published

Feb 20, 2024

CISA due date

—

Cloudanix analysis

Schedule a fix SSVC: Track

A bug in the Linux kernel could let someone with access to the computer crash it or take control of it.

Exploitation
Local Privilege
Attacker needs
Low Privilege
Complexity
Moderate
Impact
Full Compromise
Component
OS kernel
Class
Use After Free
Remediation
Upgrade
Effort
Medium
Patch risk
Low

What it actually does

Use-after-free in binder_alloc_free_page during shrinker callback because vma pointer can be freed by concurrent munmap after mmap lock downgrade; leads to invalid access in zap_page_range_single.

Why it matters to the business

Local attackers on affected Linux kernels can trigger kernel crashes, memory corruption, or potential privilege escalation, disrupting services and requiring emergency patching on servers or devices using binder.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local access allocates binder memory, triggers munmap to free the vma via RCU, then forces page reclaim through shrinker debugfs or memory pressure so that binder_shrink_scan walks a stale vma pointer and calls into zap_page_range_single, causing the UAF.

How to fix it

Upgrade the Linux kernel to a version containing commit a53e15e592b4dcc91c3a3b8514e484a0bdbc53a3 which replaces the unsafe vma pointer with vma_lookup().

How to confirm the fix worked

Verify the running kernel contains commit a53e15e592b4dcc91c3a3b8514e484a0bdbc53a3 or later equivalent stable backport; test binder shrinker paths under memory pressure after the update.

Typical attack path

  1. Obtain local code execution on target system
  2. Perform binder mmap allocations
  3. Trigger concurrent munmap of the binder region
  4. Force shrinker scan via memory pressure or debugfs
  5. Reach binder_alloc_free_page and invalid vma dereference

How to detect it

Inspect kernel logs for KASAN reports referencing binder_alloc_free_page, zap_page_range_single, binder_shrink_scan, or list_lru_walk_node; correlate with processes triggering munmap and shrinker activity.

  • zap_page_range_single+0x470/0x4b8
  • binder_alloc_free_page+0x608/0xadc
  • binder_shrink_scan+0x108/0x1dc
  • BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free

What your security team should do

  • Prioritize kernel updates on all systems exposing binder or running recent mainline kernels
  • Monitor for local privilege-escalation attempts on multi-tenant hosts
  • Disable unnecessary binder usage where feasible until patched

The record

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: binder: fix use-after-free in shinker's callback The mmap read lock is used during the shrinker's callback, which means that using alloc->vma pointer isn't safe as it can race with munmap(). As of commit dd2283f2605e ("mm: mmap: zap pages with read mmap_sem in munmap") the mmap lock is downgraded after the vma has been isolated. I was able to reproduce this issue by manually adding some delays and triggering page reclaiming through the shrinker's debug sysfs. The following KASAN report confirms the UAF: ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in zap_page_range_single+0x470/0x4b8 Read of size 8 at addr ffff356ed50e50f0 by task bash/478 CPU: 1 PID: 478 Comm: bash Not tainted 6.6.0-rc5-00055-g1c8b86a3799f-dirty #70 Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT) Call trace: zap_page_range_single+0x470/0x4b8 binder_alloc_free_page+0x608/0xadc __list_lru_walk_one+0x130/0x3b0 list_lru_walk_node+0xc4/0x22c binder_shrink_scan+0x108/0x1dc shrinker_debugfs_scan_write+0x2b4/0x500 full_proxy_write+0xd4/0x140 vfs_write+0x1ac/0x758 ksys_write+0xf0/0x1dc __arm64_sys_write+0x6c/0x9c Allocated by task 492: kmem_cache_alloc+0x130/0x368 vm_area_alloc+0x2c/0x190 mmap_region+0x258/0x18bc do_mmap+0x694/0xa60 vm_mmap_pgoff+0x170/0x29c ksys_mmap_pgoff+0x290/0x3a0 __arm64_sys_mmap+0xcc/0x144 Freed by task 491: kmem_cache_free+0x17c/0x3c8 vm_area_free_rcu_cb+0x74/0x98 rcu_core+0xa38/0x26d4 rcu_core_si+0x10/0x1c __do_softirq+0x2fc/0xd24 Last potentially related work creation: __call_rcu_common.constprop.0+0x6c/0xba0 call_rcu+0x10/0x1c vm_area_free+0x18/0x24 remove_vma+0xe4/0x118 do_vmi_align_munmap.isra.0+0x718/0xb5c do_vmi_munmap+0xdc/0x1fc __vm_munmap+0x10c/0x278 __arm64_sys_munmap+0x58/0x7c Fix this issue by performing instead a vma_lookup() which will fail to find the vma that was isolated before the mmap lock downgrade. Note that this option has better performance than upgrading to a mmap write lock which would increase contention. Plus, mmap_write_trylock() has been recently removed anyway.

Affected packages

Ecosystem Package Introduced Fixed
Debian:10 linux-5.10 0 5.10.209-2~deb10u1
Debian:11 linux 0 5.10.209-1
Debian:12 linux 0 6.1.76-1
Debian:13 linux 0 6.6.13-1
Linux Kernel 4.20.0 5.4.268
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux 0 3.11.0-12.19
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux-aws 0 4.4.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux-azure 0 4.15.0-1023.24~14.04.1
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux-lts-xenial 0 4.4.0-13.29~14.04.1
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux 0 4.4.0-2.16
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-aws 0 4.4.0-1001.10
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-aws-hwe 0 4.15.0-1030.31~16.04.1
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-azure 0 4.11.0-1009.9
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 4.10.0-1004.4
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-hwe 0 4.8.0-39.42~16.04.1
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-hwe-edge 0 No fix
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 4.4.0-1004.9
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 4.15.0-1007.9~16.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux 0 4.13.0-16.19
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-aws 0 4.15.0-1001.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-aws-5.0 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-aws-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure-4.15 0 4.15.0-1082.92
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure-edge 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gcp-4.15 0 4.15.0-1071.81
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gke-4.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gke-5.4 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gkeop-5.4 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-hwe 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-hwe-edge 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 4.15.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oem 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 4.15.0-1007.9
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.0 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux 0 5.4.0-176.196
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws 0 5.4.0-1122.132
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.15 0 5.15.0-1057.63~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure 0 5.4.0-1127.134
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.15 0 5.15.0-1060.69~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-fde 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-fde-5.15 0 5.15.0-1060.69~20.04.1.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-bluefield 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-bluefield 0 5.4.0-1082.89
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 5.4.0-1126.135
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.15 0 5.15.0-1055.63~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gke 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gke-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 5.4.0-1089.93
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gkeop-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gkeop-5.15 0 5.15.0-1040.46~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.15 0 5.15.0-102.112~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 5.4.0-1069.74
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-ibm-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-ibm-5.15 0 5.15.0-1050.53~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-intel-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-intel-iotg-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-intel-iotg-5.15 0 5.15.0-1052.58~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-iot 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-iot 0 5.4.0-1034.35
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 5.4.0-1110.117
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15 0 5.15.0-102.112~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-nvidia-tegra-5.15 0 5.15.0-1025.25~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.10 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.14 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.6 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 5.4.0-1121.130
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.15 0 5.15.0-1055.61~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 5.4.0-1106.118
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-raspi2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.15 0 5.15.0-1053.57~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-xilinx-zynqmp 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-xilinx-zynqmp 0 5.4.0-1041.45
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux 0 5.15.0-102.112
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-allwinner-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws 0 5.15.0-1057.63
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-6.5 0 6.5.0-1017.17~22.04.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-6.8 0 6.8.0-1009.9~22.04.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure 0 5.15.0-1060.69
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-6.5 0 6.5.0-1018.19~22.04.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-6.8 0 6.8.0-1008.8~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-fde 0 5.15.0-1060.69.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-fde-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-fde-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-fde-6.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 5.15.0-1055.63
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-6.5 0 6.5.0-1017.17~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-6.8 0 6.8.0-1010.11~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gke 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gke 0 5.15.0-1054.59
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 5.15.0-1040.46
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-6.5 0 6.5.0-27.28~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-6.8 0 6.8.0-38.38~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 5.15.0-1050.53
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iot-realtime 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iotg 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iotg 0 5.15.0-1052.58
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 5.15.0-1054.59
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency 0 5.15.0-102.112
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5 0 6.5.0-27.28.1~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 0 6.8.0-38.38.1~22.04.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia 0 5.15.0-1048.48
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.5 0 6.5.0-1014.14
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.8 0 6.8.0-1008.8~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-tegra 0 5.15.0-1025.25
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-tegra-igx 0 5.15.0-1012.12
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-5.17 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-6.0 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-6.1 0 6.1.0-1035.35
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-6.5 0 6.5.0-1019.20
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 5.15.0-1055.61
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle-6.5 0 6.5.0-1020.20~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle-6.8 0 6.8.0-1006.6~22.04.3
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 5.15.0-1050.53
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-realtime 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv-6.8 0 6.8.0-38.38.1~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-6.5 0 6.5.0-1011.12~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-xilinx-zynqmp 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-xilinx-zynqmp 0 5.15.0-1030.34
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS:for:NVIDIA:BlueField linux-bluefield 0 5.15.0-1040.42
Ubuntu:23.10 linux 0 6.5.0-27.28
Ubuntu:23.10 linux-aws 0 6.5.0-1017.17
Ubuntu:23.10 linux-azure 0 6.5.0-1018.19
Ubuntu:23.10 linux-gcp 0 6.5.0-1017.17
Ubuntu:23.10 linux-laptop 0 6.5.0-1013.16

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