CVE-2023-52486: drm: Don't unref the same fb many times by mistake due to deadlock handling

Published Feb 29, 2024
·
Updated

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

drm: Don't unref the same fb many times by mistake due to deadlock handling

If we get a deadlock after the fb lookup in drmmodepageflipioctl() we proceed to unref the fb and then retry the whole thing from the top. But we forget to reset the fb pointer back to NULL, and so if we then get another error during the retry, before the fb lookup, we proceed the unref the same fb again without having gotten another reference. The end result is that the fb will (eventually) end up being freed while it's still in use.

Reset fb to NULL once we've unreffed it to avoid doing it again until we've done another fb lookup.

This turned out to be pretty easy to hit on a DG2 when doing async flips (and CONFIGDEBUGWWMUTEXSLOWPATH=y). The first symptom I saw that drmclosefb() simply got stuck in a busy loop while walking the framebuffer list. Fortunately I was able to convince it to oops instead, and from there it was easier to track down the culprit.

Other sources

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

drm: Don't unref the same fb many times by mistake due to deadlock handling

The Linux kernel CVE team has assigned CVE-2023-52486 to this issue.

Upstream advisory: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/20240229155245.1571576-27-lee@kernel.org/T/#u

Red Hat

Affected Software

20 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/kernel<4.19.307
4.19.307
redhat/kernel<5.4.269
5.4.269
redhat/kernel<5.10.210
5.10.210
redhat/kernel<5.15.149
5.15.149
redhat/kernel<6.1.76
6.1.76
redhat/kernel<6.6.15
6.6.15
redhat/kernel<6.7.3
6.7.3
redhat/kernel<6.8
6.8
Linux Linux kernel<4.19.307
Linux Linux kernel>=4.20<5.4.269
Linux Linux kernel>=5.5<5.10.210
Linux Linux kernel>=5.11<5.15.149
Linux Linux kernel>=5.16<6.1.76
Linux Linux kernel>=6.2<6.6.15
Linux Linux kernel>=6.7<6.7.3
IBM Security Verify Governance<=ISVG 10.0.2
IBM Security Verify Governance, Identity Manager Software Stack<=ISVG 10.0.2
IBM Security Verify Governance, Identity Manager Virtual Appliance<=ISVG 10.0.2
IBM Security Verify Governance Identity Manager Container<=ISVG 10.0.2
debian/linux
5.10.223-15.10.234-16.1.129-16.1.135-16.12.25-16.12.27-1

Event History

Feb 29, 2024
CVE Published
via MITRE·03:52 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·03:52 PM
Description
Mar 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·09:39 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
May 7, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·08:28 PM
Description
May 7, 2025
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·05:35 AM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2023-52486?

CVE-2023-52486 has been assigned a medium severity rating due to potential denial of service implications.

2

How do I fix CVE-2023-52486?

To mitigate CVE-2023-52486, update the Linux kernel to version 4.19.307, 5.4.269, 5.10.210, 5.15.149, 6.1.76, 6.6.15, 6.7.3, or 6.8.

3

What versions of the Linux kernel are affected by CVE-2023-52486?

CVE-2023-52486 affects Linux kernel versions prior to 4.19.307, between versions 4.20 and 5.4.269, 5.5 to 5.10.210, 5.11 to 5.15.149, 5.16 to 6.1.76, 6.2 to 6.6.15, and 6.7 to 6.7.3.

4

Is CVE-2023-52486 specific to any distribution?

CVE-2023-52486 impacts multiple distributions of the Linux kernel, notably those provided by Red Hat and Debian.

5

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2023-52486?

CVE-2023-52486 is a resource management issue that can lead to a denial of service due to improper reference counting in the Direct Rendering Manager.

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