Cloudanix VulnDB

CVE-2023-52446

High · 7.8

CVSS

7.8

EPSS

0.2%

Published

Feb 22, 2024

CISA due date

—

Cloudanix analysis

Schedule a fix SSVC: Track

A bug in the Linux kernel can let someone who already has access to the machine corrupt memory and potentially take over the system or crash it.

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

What it actually does

Race between btf_put and map_free during BPF map teardown allows use-after-free when bpf_rb_root_free reads a freed refcount field.

Why it matters to the business

Local attackers can corrupt kernel memory on affected Linux systems, leading to crashes, privilege escalation, or denial of service that disrupts services and requires restarts or patches.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local access loads a crafted BPF program that triggers concurrent map destruction and field access; the race frees a BTF structure while bpf_rb_root_free still dereferences it, causing memory corruption.

How to fix it

Update the Linux kernel to a version containing commit d048dced8ea5eac6723ae873a40567e6f101ea42 or later; rebuild and reboot with the fixed kernel; rebuild any out-of-tree BPF modules if present.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm the running kernel contains commit d048dced8ea5eac6723ae873a40567e6f101ea42 via uname or kernel build info; re-run BPF test suites such as test_progs to verify absence of KASAN reports on map teardown.

Typical attack path

  1. Obtain local user or container access on a vulnerable kernel
  2. Load BPF programs or maps that exercise btf_parse_fields and array_map_free paths
  3. Trigger concurrent btf_put and bpf_map_free_deferred via workload or test harness
  4. Trigger the use-after-free in bpf_rb_root_free during deferred cleanup
  5. Leverage resulting memory corruption for escalation or denial of service

How to detect it

Review kernel logs for KASAN reports mentioning bpf_rb_root_free, bpf_obj_free_fields, or array_map_free during worker thread execution; inspect audit logs for unusual BPF program loads preceding crashes.

What your security team should do

  • Prioritize kernel upgrade on all systems exposing eBPF to untrusted local users
  • Apply the fix within standard change windows given the local attack vector
  • Monitor kernel update channels for backports to supported distribution kernels
  • Restrict unprivileged BPF loading via sysctl until patches are deployed

The record

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Fix a race condition between btf_put() and map_free() When running `./test_progs -j` in my local vm with latest kernel, I once hit a kasan error like below: [ 1887.184724] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in bpf_rb_root_free+0x1f8/0x2b0 [ 1887.185599] Read of size 4 at addr ffff888106806910 by task kworker/u12:2/2830 [ 1887.186498] [ 1887.186712] CPU: 3 PID: 2830 Comm: kworker/u12:2 Tainted: G OEL 6.7.0-rc3-00699-g90679706d486-dirty #494 [ 1887.188034] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.14.0-0-g155821a1990b-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 [ 1887.189618] Workqueue: events_unbound bpf_map_free_deferred [ 1887.190341] Call Trace: [ 1887.190666] <TASK> [ 1887.190949] dump_stack_lvl+0xac/0xe0 [ 1887.191423] ? nf_tcp_handle_invalid+0x1b0/0x1b0 [ 1887.192019] ? panic+0x3c0/0x3c0 [ 1887.192449] print_report+0x14f/0x720 [ 1887.192930] ? preempt_count_sub+0x1c/0xd0 [ 1887.193459] ? __virt_addr_valid+0xac/0x120 [ 1887.194004] ? bpf_rb_root_free+0x1f8/0x2b0 [ 1887.194572] kasan_report+0xc3/0x100 [ 1887.195085] ? bpf_rb_root_free+0x1f8/0x2b0 [ 1887.195668] bpf_rb_root_free+0x1f8/0x2b0 [ 1887.196183] ? __bpf_obj_drop_impl+0xb0/0xb0 [ 1887.196736] ? preempt_count_sub+0x1c/0xd0 [ 1887.197270] ? preempt_count_sub+0x1c/0xd0 [ 1887.197802] ? _raw_spin_unlock+0x1f/0x40 [ 1887.198319] bpf_obj_free_fields+0x1d4/0x260 [ 1887.198883] array_map_free+0x1a3/0x260 [ 1887.199380] bpf_map_free_deferred+0x7b/0xe0 [ 1887.199943] process_scheduled_works+0x3a2/0x6c0 [ 1887.200549] worker_thread+0x633/0x890 [ 1887.201047] ? __kthread_parkme+0xd7/0xf0 [ 1887.201574] ? kthread+0x102/0x1d0 [ 1887.202020] kthread+0x1ab/0x1d0 [ 1887.202447] ? pr_cont_work+0x270/0x270 [ 1887.202954] ? kthread_blkcg+0x50/0x50 [ 1887.203444] ret_from_fork+0x34/0x50 [ 1887.203914] ? kthread_blkcg+0x50/0x50 [ 1887.204397] ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 [ 1887.204913] </TASK> [ 1887.204913] </TASK> [ 1887.205209] [ 1887.205416] Allocated by task 2197: [ 1887.205881] kasan_set_track+0x3f/0x60 [ 1887.206366] __kasan_kmalloc+0x6e/0x80 [ 1887.206856] __kmalloc+0xac/0x1a0 [ 1887.207293] btf_parse_fields+0xa15/0x1480 [ 1887.207836] btf_parse_struct_metas+0x566/0x670 [ 1887.208387] btf_new_fd+0x294/0x4d0 [ 1887.208851] __sys_bpf+0x4ba/0x600 [ 1887.209292] __x64_sys_bpf+0x41/0x50 [ 1887.209762] do_syscall_64+0x4c/0xf0 [ 1887.210222] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0x6b [ 1887.210868] [ 1887.211074] Freed by task 36: [ 1887.211460] kasan_set_track+0x3f/0x60 [ 1887.211951] kasan_save_free_info+0x28/0x40 [ 1887.212485] ____kasan_slab_free+0x101/0x180 [ 1887.213027] __kmem_cache_free+0xe4/0x210 [ 1887.213514] btf_free+0x5b/0x130 [ 1887.213918] rcu_core+0x638/0xcc0 [ 1887.214347] __do_softirq+0x114/0x37e The error happens at bpf_rb_root_free+0x1f8/0x2b0: 00000000000034c0 <bpf_rb_root_free>: ; { 34c0: f3 0f 1e fa endbr64 34c4: e8 00 00 00 00 callq 0x34c9 <bpf_rb_root_free+0x9> 34c9: 55 pushq %rbp 34ca: 48 89 e5 movq %rsp, %rbp ... ; if (rec && rec->refcount_off >= 0 && 36aa: 4d 85 ed testq %r13, %r13 36ad: 74 a9 je 0x3658 <bpf_rb_root_free+0x198> 36af: 49 8d 7d 10 leaq 0x10(%r13), %rdi 36b3: e8 00 00 00 00 callq 0x36b8 <bpf_rb_root_free+0x1f8> <==== kasan function 36b8: 45 8b 7d 10 movl 0x10(%r13), %r15d <==== use-after-free load 36bc: 45 85 ff testl %r15d, %r15d 36bf: 78 8c js 0x364d <bpf_rb_root_free+0x18d> So the problem ---truncated---

Affected packages

Ecosystem Package Introduced Fixed
Debian:13 linux 0 6.6.15-1
Linux Kernel 6.2.0 6.6.14
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-aws-5.4 0 5.4.0-1018.18~18.04.1
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-5.4 0 5.4.0-1020.20~18.04.1
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-gcp-5.4 0 5.4.0-1019.19~18.04.2
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-5.4 0 5.4.0-37.41~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-hwe-edge 0 5.0.0-15.16~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-ibm-5.4 0 5.4.0-1010.11~18.04.2
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-oem-osp1 0 5.0.0-1010.11
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:18.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.4 0 5.4.0-1019.19~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-raspi-5.4 0 5.4.0-1013.13~18.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux 0 5.4.0-9.12
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws 0 5.4.0-1005.5
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 5.15.0-1014.18~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure 0 5.4.0-1006.6
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 5.15.0-1007.8~20.04.1
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 5.15.0-1019.24~20.04.1.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-bluefield 0 5.4.0-1007.10
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 5.4.0-1005.5
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 5.15.0-1006.9~20.04.1
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 5.4.0-1008.9
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gkeop-5.15 0 5.15.0-1003.5~20.04.2
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 5.15.0-33.34~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 5.4.0-1003.4
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-ibm-5.15 0 5.15.0-1033.36~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-intel-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-intel-iotg-5.15 0 5.15.0-1003.5~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-iot 0 5.4.0-1001.3
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 5.4.0-1004.4
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15 0 5.15.0-33.34~20.04.1
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 5.4.0-1005.5
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 5.15.0-1007.9~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 5.4.0-1007.7
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 5.15.0-1015.17~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-xilinx-zynqmp 0 5.4.0-1020.24
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux 0 5.13.0-19.19
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-allwinner-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws 0 5.13.0-1005.6
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-6.8 0 6.8.0-1009.9~22.04.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure 0 5.13.0-1006.7
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 6.5.0-1022.23~22.04.1
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 5.15.0-1019.24.1
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-gcp 0 5.13.0-1005.6
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 6.5.0-1022.24~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-6.8 0 6.8.0-1010.11~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gke 0 5.15.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 5.15.0-1001.2
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 6.5.0-41.41~22.04.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-6.8 0 6.8.0-38.38~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 5.15.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iot-realtime 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iot-realtime 0 5.15.0-1021.26
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iotg 0 5.15.0-1004.6
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 5.13.0-1004.4
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency 0 5.15.0-22.22
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 6.5.0-41.41.1~22.04.1
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 5.15.0-1005.5
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.5 0 6.5.0-1021.22
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.8 0 6.8.0-1008.8~22.04.1
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 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-6.5 0 6.5.0-1024.25
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-6.5 0 6.5.0-1022.23
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 5.13.0-1008.10
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle-6.5 0 6.5.0-1024.24~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle-6.8 0 6.8.0-1006.6~22.04.3
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 5.13.0-1008.9
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 6.5.0-40.40.1~22.04.1
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 6.5.0-1015.16~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-xilinx-zynqmp 0 5.15.0-1022.26
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS:for:NVIDIA:BlueField linux-bluefield 0 5.15.0-1011.13
Ubuntu:23.10 linux 0 6.5.0-41.41
Ubuntu:23.10 linux-aws 0 6.5.0-1021.21
Ubuntu:23.10 linux-azure 0 6.5.0-1022.23
Ubuntu:23.10 linux-gcp 0 6.5.0-1022.24
Ubuntu:23.10 linux-laptop 0 6.5.0-1017.20
Ubuntu:23.10 linux-lowlatency 0 6.5.0-41.41.1
Ubuntu:23.10 linux-oracle 0 6.5.0-1024.24
Ubuntu:23.10 linux-raspi 0 6.5.0-1018.21
Ubuntu:23.10 linux-starfive 0 6.5.0-1015.16
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux 0 6.8.0-11.11
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-aws 0 6.8.0-1001.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-azure 0 6.8.0-1001.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 6.8.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gke 0 6.8.0-1003.5
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 6.8.0-1001.3
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 6.8.0-1001.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-lowlatency 0 6.8.0-7.7.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-nvidia 0 6.8.0-1007.7
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-nvidia-lowlatency 0 6.8.0-1009.9.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-oem-6.11 0 6.11.0-1007.7
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-oem-6.8 0 6.8.0-1003.3
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 6.8.0-1001.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 6.8.0-1001.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-raspi-realtime 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-realtime 0 6.8.0-1008.19
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-riscv 0 6.8.0-20.20.1
Ubuntu:24.10 linux 0 6.8.0-31.31
Ubuntu:24.10 linux-aws 0 6.8.0-1008.8
Ubuntu:24.10 linux-azure 0 6.8.0-1007.7
Ubuntu:24.10 linux-gcp 0 6.8.0-1007.7
Ubuntu:24.10 linux-lowlatency 0 6.8.0-31.31.1
Ubuntu:24.10 linux-oracle 0 6.8.0-1005.5
Ubuntu:24.10 linux-raspi 0 6.8.0-1004.4
Ubuntu:24.10 linux-realtime 0 6.11.0-1001.1
Ubuntu:24.10 linux-riscv 0 6.8.0-31.31.1
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS linux-hwe-edge 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-aws-5.0 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-aws-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-azure 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-azure-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-azure-edge 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-gke-4.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-gke-5.4 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-gkeop-5.4 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-hwe 0 No fix

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