CVE-2023-1079: linux linux_kernel Use After Free

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2023-1079 is a medium (CVSS 6.8) Use After Free vulnerability in linux linux_kernel. EPSS estimates a 0.45% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 39.4% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 27-03-2023
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 19-02-2025
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. A use-after-free may be triggered in asus_kbd_backlight_set when plugging/disconnecting in a malicious USB device, which advertises itself as an Asus device. Similarly to the previous known CVE-2023-25012, but in asus devices, the work_struct may be scheduled by the LED controller while the device is disconnecting, triggering a use-after-free on the struct asus_kbd_leds *led structure. A malicious USB device may exploit the issue to cause memory corruption with controlled data.

• CWE-416Use After FreeThe product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.