CVE-2023-52452: bpf: Fix accesses to uninit stack slots

Published Feb 22, 2024
·
Updated

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

bpf: Fix accesses to uninit stack slots

Privileged programs are supposed to be able to read uninitialized stack memory (ever since 6715df8d5) but, before this patch, these accesses were permitted inconsistently. In particular, accesses were permitted above state->allocatedstack, but not below it. In other words, if the stack was already "large enough", the access was permitted, but otherwise the access was rejected instead of being allowed to "grow the stack". This undesired rejection was happening in two places: - in checkstackslotwithinbounds() - in checkstackrangeinitialized() This patch arranges for these accesses to be permitted. A bunch of tests that were relying on the old rejection had to change; all of them were changed to add also run unprivileged, in which case the old behavior persists. One tests couldn't be updated - globalfunc16 - because it can't run unprivileged for other reasons.

This patch also fixes the tracking of the stack size for variable-offset reads. This second fix is bundled in the same commit as the first one because they're inter-related. Before this patch, writes to the stack using registers containing a variable offset (as opposed to registers with fixed, known values) were not properly contributing to the function's needed stack size. As a result, it was possible for a program to verify, but then to attempt to read out-of-bounds data at runtime because a too small stack had been allocated for it.

Each function tracks the size of the stack it needs in bpfsubproginfo.stackdepth, which is maintained by updatestackdepth(). For regular memory accesses, checkmemaccess() was calling updatestatedepth() but it was passing in only the fixed part of the offset register, ignoring the variable offset. This was incorrect; the minimum possible value of that register should be used instead.

This tracking is now fixed by centralizing the tracking of stack size in growstackstate(), and by lifting the calls to growstackstate() to checkstackaccesswithinbounds() as suggested by Andrii. The code is now simpler and more convincingly tracks the correct maximum stack size. checkstackrangeinitialized() can now rely on enough stack having been allocated for the access; this helps with the fix for the first issue.

A few tests were changed to also check the stack depth computation. The one that fails without this patch is verifiervaroff:stackwriteprivvsunpriv.

Affected Software

3 affected componentsFixes available
Linux Linux kernel>=5.12<6.6.14
Linux Linux kernel>=6.7.0<6.7.2
debian/linux<=5.10.223-1, <=5.10.234-1, <=6.1.129-1, <=6.1.133-1
6.12.21-16.12.22-1

Event History

Feb 22, 2024
CVE Published
via MITRE·04:21 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·04:21 PM
Description
May 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·04:29 PM
Description
Apr 12, 2025
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·04:46 AM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2023-52452?

CVE-2023-52452 has a critical severity rating due to its potential impact on security by allowing unintended access to uninitialized stack memory.

2

How do I fix CVE-2023-52452?

To fix CVE-2023-52452, upgrade to Linux kernel versions 6.12.10-1 or 6.12.11-1, or ensure you are running a version that is not vulnerable.

3

Which systems are affected by CVE-2023-52452?

CVE-2023-52452 affects various versions of the Linux kernel from versions 5.12 to 6.6.14 and 6.7.0 to 6.7.2.

4

Is CVE-2023-52452 a privilege escalation vulnerability?

Yes, CVE-2023-52452 is a privilege escalation vulnerability that can allow privileged programs to interact with uninitialized stack memory.

5

What does CVE-2023-52452 affect in the Linux kernel?

CVE-2023-52452 affects the BPF (Berkeley Packet Filter) implementation in the Linux kernel and addresses inconsistent access to uninitialized stack slots.

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