CVE-2023-52576: x86/mm, kexec, ima: Use memblock_free_late() from ima_free_kexec_buffer()

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2023-52576 is a medium (CVSS 5.5) Use After Free vulnerability in linux. EPSS estimates a 0.22% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 12.6% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 02-03-2024
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 11-05-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/mm, kexec, ima: Use memblock_free_late() from ima_free_kexec_buffer() The code calling ima_free_kexec_buffer() runs long after the memblock allocator has already been torn down, potentially resulting in a use after free in memblock_isolate_range(). With KASAN or KFENCE, this use after free will result in a BUG from the idle task, and a subsequent kernel panic. Switch ima_free_kexec_buffer() over to memblock_free_late() to avoid that bug.

• 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 Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.