high
7.8
CWE
416 362
Advisory Published
CVE Published
Updated

CVE-2023-1118: Use After Free

First published: Fri Feb 10 2023(Updated: )

A flaw in the Linux Kernel found. There are use-after-free vulnerabilities in drivers/media/rc/ene_ir.c of linux that allow attacker to crash linux kernel without any privilege by detaching rc device. When the rc device is detaching, function ene_remove() will be called. But the synchronizations in ene_remove() are bad. The situations that may lead to race conditions are shown below. Firstly, the rx receiver is disabled with ene_rx_disable() before rc_unregister_device() in ene_remove(), which means it can be enabled again if a process opens /dev/lirc0 between ene_rx_disable() and rc_unregister_device(). (cleanup routine) | (open routine) ene_remove() | ene_rx_disable(dev); | ene_open() | ene_rx_enable(dev); //re-enable! Secondly, the irqaction descriptor is freed by free_irq() before the rc device is unregistered, which means irqaction descriptor may be accessed again after it is deallocated. (free routine) | (use routine) ene_remove() | ene_rx_enable() free_irq(dev-&gt;irq, ...); //FREE | ene_rx_enable_hw() | ene_write_reg(..., dev-&gt;irq &lt;&lt; 1) //USE | Thirdly, the timer can call ene_tx_sample() that can write to the io ports, which means the io ports could be accessed again after they are deallocated by release_region(). (free routine) | (use routine) ene_remove() | ene_tx_sample() release_region(dev-&gt;hw_io, ...); //FREE | ene_write_reg() | outb(..., dev-&gt;hw_io + ENE_IO) //USE Fourthly, there is no function to cancel tx_sim_timer in ene_remove(), the timer handler ene_tx_irqsim() could race with ene_remove(). As a result, the UAF bugs could happen, the process is shown below. (free routine) | (use routine) | mod_timer(&amp;dev-&gt;tx_sim_timer, ..) ene_remove() | (wait a time) kfree(dev) //FREE | ene_tx_irqsim() | dev-&gt;hw_lock //USE | ene_tx_sample(dev) //USE ------------------------------------------ Reference: <a href="https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/29b0589a865b6f66d141d79b2dd1373e4e50fe17">https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/29b0589a865b6f66d141d79b2dd1373e4e50fe17</a>

Credit: secalert@redhat.com

Affected SoftwareAffected VersionHow to fix
redhat/Linux kernel<6.3
6.3
Linux Kernel>=2.6.36<4.14.308
Linux Kernel>=4.15<4.19.276
Linux Kernel>=4.20<5.4.235
Linux Kernel>=5.5<5.10.173
Linux Kernel>=5.11<5.15.99
Linux Kernel>=5.16<6.1.16
Linux Kernel>=6.2<6.2.3
IBM Security Verify Governance - Identity Manager<=ISVG 10.0.2
IBM Security Verify Governance - Identity Manager<=ISVG 10.0.2
debian/linux
5.10.223-1
5.10.234-1
6.1.129-1
6.1.128-1
6.12.20-1
6.12.21-1

Remedy

To mitigate this issue, prevent module ene_ir from being loaded. Please see https://access.redhat.com/solutions/41278 for how to blacklist a kernel module to prevent it from loading automatically.

Remedy

https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/29b0589a865b6f66d141d79b2dd1373e4e50fe17

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Parent vulnerabilities

(Appears in the following advisories)

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the severity of CVE-2023-1118?

    CVE-2023-1118 is classified as a high severity vulnerability due to its potential to cause kernel crashes.

  • How do I fix CVE-2023-1118?

    To fix CVE-2023-1118, upgrade to the Linux kernel version 6.3 or later.

  • Which versions of the Linux kernel are affected by CVE-2023-1118?

    CVE-2023-1118 affects Linux kernel versions prior to 6.3 and various versions between 2.6.36 and 6.2.3.

  • Can CVE-2023-1118 be exploited remotely?

    Yes, CVE-2023-1118 can be exploited remotely without any privileges by detaching an RC device.

  • What component in the Linux kernel is vulnerable in CVE-2023-1118?

    The vulnerability CVE-2023-1118 is found in the drivers/media/rc/ene_ir.c component of the Linux kernel.

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