CVE-2023-52707

CVE-2023-52707 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-416.

Key facts

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched/psi: Fix use-after-free in ep_remove_wait_queue() If a non-root cgroup gets removed when there is a thread that registered trigger and is polling on a pressure file within the cgroup, the polling waitqueue gets freed in the following path: do_rmdir cgroup_rmdir kernfs_drain_open_files cgroup_file_release cgroup_pressure_release psi_trigger_destroy However, the polling thread still has a reference to the pressure file and will access the freed waitqueue when the file is closed or upon exit: fput ep_eventpoll_release ep_free ep_remove_wait_queue remove_wait_queue This results in use-after-free as pasted below. The fundamental problem here is that cgroup_file_release() (and consequently waitqueue's lifetime) is not tied to the file's real lifetime. Using wake_up_pollfree() here might be less than ideal, but it is in line with the comment at commit 42288cb44c4b ("wait: add wake_up_pollfree()") since the waitqueue's lifetime is not tied to file's one and can be considered as another special case. While this would be fixable by somehow making cgroup_file_release() be tied to the fput(), it would require sizable refactoring at cgroups or higher layer which might be more justifiable if we identify more cases like this. BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x60/0xc0 Write of size 4 at addr ffff88810e625328 by task a.out/4404 CPU: 19 PID: 4404 Comm: a.out Not tainted 6.2.0-rc6 #38 Hardware name: Amazon EC2 c5a.8xlarge/, BIOS 1.0 10/16/2017 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x73/0xa0 print_report+0x16c/0x4e0 kasan_report+0xc3/0xf0 kasan_check_range+0x2d2/0x310 _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x60/0xc0 remove_wait_queue+0x1a/0xa0 ep_free+0x12c/0x170 ep_eventpoll_release+0x26/0x30 __fput+0x202/0x400 task_work_run+0x11d/0x170 do_exit+0x495/0x1130 do_group_exit+0x100/0x100 get_signal+0xd67/0xde0 arch_do_signal_or_restart+0x2a/0x2b0 exit_to_user_mode_prepare+0x94/0x100 syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x20/0x40 do_syscall_64+0x52/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd </TASK> Allocated by task 4404: kasan_set_track+0x3d/0x60 __kasan_kmalloc+0x85/0x90 psi_trigger_create+0x113/0x3e0 pressure_write+0x146/0x2e0 cgroup_file_write+0x11c/0x250 kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x186/0x220 vfs_write+0x3d8/0x5c0 ksys_write+0x90/0x110 do_syscall_64+0x43/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd Freed by task 4407: kasan_set_track+0x3d/0x60 kasan_save_free_info+0x27/0x40 ____kasan_slab_free+0x11d/0x170 slab_free_freelist_hook+0x87/0x150 __kmem_cache_free+0xcb/0x180 psi_trigger_destroy+0x2e8/0x310 cgroup_file_release+0x4f/0xb0 kernfs_drain_open_files+0x165/0x1f0 kernfs_drain+0x162/0x1a0 __kernfs_remove+0x1fb/0x310 kernfs_remove_by_name_ns+0x95/0xe0 cgroup_addrm_files+0x67f/0x700 cgroup_destroy_locked+0x283/0x3c0 cgroup_rmdir+0x29/0x100 kernfs_iop_rmdir+0xd1/0x140 vfs_rmdir+0xfe/0x240 do_rmdir+0x13d/0x280 __x64_sys_rmdir+0x2c/0x30 do_syscall_64+0x43/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-52707?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched/psi: Fix use-after-free in ep_remove_wait_queue() If a non-root cgroup gets removed when there is a thread that registered trigger and is polling on a pressure file within the cgroup, the polling waitqueue gets freed in the following path: do_rmdir cgroup_rmdir kernfs_drain_open_files cgroup_file_release cgroup_pressure_release psi_trigger_destroy However, the polling thread still has a reference to the pressure file and will access the freed waitqueue when the file is closed or upon exit: fput ep_eventpoll_release ep_free ep_remove_wait_queue remove_wait_queue This results in use-after-free as pasted below. The fundamental problem here is that cgroup_file_release() (and consequently waitqueue's lifetime) is not tied to the file's real lifetime. Using wake_up_pollfree() here might be less than ideal, but it is in line with the comment at commit 42288cb44c4b ("wait: add wake_up_pollfree()") since the waitqueue's lifetime is not tied to file's one and can be considered as another special case. While this would be fixable by somehow making cgroup_file_release() be tied to the fput(), it would require sizable refactoring at cgroups or higher layer which might be more justifiable if we identify more cases like this. BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x60/0xc0 Write of size 4 at addr ffff88810e625328 by task a.out/4404 CPU: 19 PID: 4404 Comm: a.out Not tainted 6.2.0-rc6 #38 Hardware name: Amazon EC2 c5a.8xlarge/, BIOS 1.0 10/16/2017 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x73/0xa0 print_report+0x16c/0x4e0 kasan_report+0xc3/0xf0 kasan_check_range+0x2d2/0x310 _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x60/0xc0 remove_wait_queue+0x1a/0xa0 ep_free+0x12c/0x170 ep_eventpoll_release+0x26/0x30 __fput+0x202/0x400 task_work_run+0x11d/0x170 do_exit+0x495/0x1130 do_group_exit+0x100/0x100 get_signal+0xd67/0xde0 arch_do_signal_or_restart+0x2a/0x2b0 exit_to_user_mode_prepare+0x94/0x100 syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x20/0x40 do_syscall_64+0x52/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd </TASK> Allocated by task 4404: kasan_set_track+0x3d/0x60 __kasan_kmalloc+0x85/0x90 psi_trigger_create+0x113/0x3e0 pressure_write+0x146/0x2e0 cgroup_file_write+0x11c/0x250 kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x186/0x220 vfs_write+0x3d8/0x5c0 ksys_write+0x90/0x110 do_syscall_64+0x43/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd Freed by task 4407: kasan_set_track+0x3d/0x60 kasan_save_free_info+0x27/0x40 ____kasan_slab_free+0x11d/0x170 slab_free_freelist_hook+0x87/0x150 __kmem_cache_free+0xcb/0x180 psi_trigger_destroy+0x2e8/0x310 cgroup_file_release+0x4f/0xb0 kernfs_drain_open_files+0x165/0x1f0 kernfs_drain+0x162/0x1a0 __kernfs_remove+0x1fb/0x310 kernfs_remove_by_name_ns+0x95/0xe0 cgroup_addrm_files+0x67f/0x700 cgroup_destroy_locked+0x283/0x3c0 cgroup_rmdir+0x29/0x100 kernfs_iop_rmdir+0xd1/0x140 vfs_rmdir+0xfe/0x240 do_rmdir+0x13d/0x280 __x64_sys_rmdir+0x2c/0x30 do_syscall_64+0x43/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd
How severe is CVE-2023-52707?
CVE-2023-52707 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2023-52707 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (18th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2023-52707?
CVE-2023-52707 primarily affects Linux Linux Kernel. In total, 9 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2023-52707?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
Does CVE-2023-52707 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2023-52707 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2023-57331.
When was CVE-2023-52707 published?
CVE-2023-52707 was published on 2024-05-21 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (9)

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