CVE-2023-53401: linux kernel vulnerability

What is known

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: kmem: fix a NULL pointer dereference in obj_stock_flush_required() KCSAN found an issue in obj_stock_flush_required(): stock->cached_objcg can be reset between the check and dereference: ================================================================== BUG: KCSAN: data-race in drain_all_stock / drain_obj_stock write to 0xffff888237c2a2f8 of 8 bytes by task 19625 on cpu 0: drain_obj_stock+0x408/0x4e0 mm/memcontrol.c:3306 refill_obj_stock+0x9c/0x1e0 mm/memcontrol.c:3340 obj_cgroup_uncharge+0xe/0x10 mm/memcontrol.c:3408 memcg_slab_free_hook mm/slab.h:587 [inline] __cache_free mm/slab.c:3373 [inline] __do_kmem_cache_free mm/slab.c:3577 [inline] kmem_cache_free+0x105/0x280 mm/slab.c:3602 __d_free fs/dcache.c:298 [inline] dentry_free fs/dcache.c:375 [inline] __dentry_kill+0x422/0x4a0 fs/dcache.c:621 dentry_kill+0x8d/0x1e0 dput+0x118/0x1f0 fs/dcache.c:913 __fput+0x3bf/0x570 fs/file_table.c:329 ____fput+0x15/0x20 fs/file_table.c:349 task_work_run+0x123/0x160 kernel/task_work.c:179 resume_user_mode_work include/linux/resume_user_mode.h:49 [inline] exit_to_user_mode_loop+0xcf/0xe0 kernel/entry/common.c:171 exit_to_user_mode_prepare+0x6a/0xa0 kernel/entry/common.c:203 __syscall_exit_to_user_mode_work kernel/entry/common.c:285 [inline] syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x26/0x140 kernel/entry/common.c:296 do_syscall_64+0x4d/0xc0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:86 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd read to 0xffff888237c2a2f8 of 8 bytes by task 19632 on cpu 1: obj_stock_flush_required mm/memcontrol.c:3319 [inline] drain_all_stock+0x174/0x2a0 mm/memcontrol.c:2361 try_charge_memcg+0x6d0/0xd10 mm/memcontrol.c:2703 try_charge mm/memcontrol.c:2837 [inline] mem_cgroup_charge_skmem+0x51/0x140 mm/memcontrol.c:7290 sock_reserve_memory+0xb1/0x390 net/core/sock.c:1025 sk_setsockopt+0x800/0x1e70 net/core/sock.c:1525 udp_lib_setsockopt+0x99/0x6c0 net/ipv4/udp.c:2692 udp_setsockopt+0x73/0xa0 net/ipv4/udp.c:2817 sock_common_setsockopt+0x61/0x70 net/core/sock.c:3668 __sys_setsockopt+0x1c3/0x230 net/socket.c:2271 __do_sys_setsockopt net/socket.c:2282 [inline] __se_sys_setsockopt net/socket.c:2279 [inline] __x64_sys_setsockopt+0x66/0x80 net/socket.c:2279 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x41/0xc0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd value changed: 0xffff8881382d52c0 -> 0xffff888138893740 Reported by Kernel Concurrency Sanitizer on: CPU: 1 PID: 19632 Comm: syz-executor.0 Not tainted 6.3.0-rc2-syzkaller-00387-g534293368afa #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 03/02/2023 Fix it by using READ_ONCE()/WRITE_ONCE() for all accesses to stock->cached_objcg.

Business impact

Successful exploitation of CVE-2023-53401, a medium vulnerability (CVSS 4.7) affecting linux kernel, may affect the confidentiality, integrity or availability of the vulnerable environment. The exact impact depends on the installed version, exposed interfaces and deployment configuration.

Recommended administrator action

Confirm whether linux kernel is present and compare installed versions with the vendor advisory and NVD record. Apply the vendor patch or documented mitigation; until remediation is complete, reduce exposure of affected interfaces, review relevant logs and monitor for indicators of exploitation. DataHouse can support version verification, managed patching, network exposure reduction, log review and backup validation for dedicated, cloud and colocated environments.

Sources

• NVD
• Reference
• Reference
• Reference