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Fencer Vulns
high 7.8

CVE-2023-2235 json

Use-after-free in Linux kernel's Performance Events subsystem

published 2023-05-01 3 y ago modified 2026-08-07 3 mo ago also EUVD-2023-33745

cvss
7.8
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
0.3%
EPSS 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 16%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux Kernel Performance Events system can be exploited to achieve local privilege escalation.

The perf_group_detach function did not check the event's siblings' attach_state before calling add_event_to_groups(), but remove_on_exec made it possible to call list_del_event() on before detaching from their group, making it possible to use a dangling pointer causing a use-after-free vulnerability.

We recommend upgrading past commit fd0815f632c24878e325821943edccc7fde947a2.

Patch / fix

  • Linux Linux Kernel 6.3
  • linux Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 6.1.25-1

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2023-2235

  • linux Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-79.86
  • linux-aws Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1042.47
  • linux-gcp Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1039.47
  • linux-gke Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1039.44
  • linux-ibm Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1035.38
  • linux-kvm Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1039.44
  • linux-azure Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1045.52
  • linux-gkeop Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1025.30

ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2023-2235

Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0

  • perf rhev hypervisor 4.4, RHEL 8.6 EUS 4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6
  • kernel RHEL 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8
  • perf RHEL 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8
  • bpftool RHEL 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8
  • kernel-core RHEL 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8
  • kernel-tools RHEL 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8
  • python3-perf RHEL 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8
  • kernel-modules RHEL 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8

red hat advisories RHSA-2023:5627RHSA-2023:4517RHSA-2023:4541RHSA-2023:4138RHSA-2023:4137RHSA-2023:3708

  • dtb-aarch64 openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.55.7.1
  • kernel-64kb SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP5, openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.55.7.1
  • kernel-syms SLE Module for Development Tools 15 SP5, openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.55.7.1
  • kernel-obs-qa openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.55.7.1
  • kernel-source SLE Module for Development Tools 15 SP5, SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP5, openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.55.7.1
  • kernel-default SLE Workstation Extension 15 SP5, SLE Module for Legacy 15 SP5, SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 +3 more 5.14.21-150500.55.7.1
  • kernel-kvmsmall openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.55.7.1
  • kernel-zfcpdump SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP5, openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.55.7.1

suse advisories SUSE-SU-2023:3153-1SUSE-SU-2023:3116-1SUSE-SU-2023:3079-1SUSE-SU-2023:3063-1SUSE-SU-2023:3055-1SUSE-SU-2023:2871-1

  • kernel AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8
  • perf AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8
  • bpftool AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8
  • kernel-core AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8
  • kernel-tools AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8
  • python3-perf AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8
  • kernel-modules AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8
  • kernel-zfcpdump AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8

almalinux advisories ALSA-2023:4517ALSA-2023:4541ALSA-2023:3708ALSA-2023:3723

  • kernel-rt Rocky Linux 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8
  • kernel Rocky Linux 8 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8

rocky linux advisories RLSA-2023:4541RLSA-2023:4517

  • kernel CBL-Mariner 2.0 5.15.111.1-1

azure linux advisories AZL-26389

Azure Linux vulnerability data, Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation, from https://github.com/microsoft/AzureLinuxVulnerabilityData via OSV, under the MIT licence; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. MIT

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2023-2235 updated cvss 7.8

kernel: use-after-free vulnerability in the perf_group_detach function of the Linux Kernel Performance Events

  • Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.8.6) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:5627
  • Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.0) kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:4137
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) perf 5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, rtla 5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, kernel-devel-matched 5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, kernel-64k-devel-matched 5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, kernel-debug-devel-matched 5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, +5 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:3723
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.0) perf 5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, kernel-devel-matched 5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, kernel-debug-devel-matched 5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, kernel-zfcpdump-devel-matched 5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, +2 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:4137
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) perf 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8, kernel 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8, bpftool 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8, kernel-core 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8, kernel-tools 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8, python3-perf 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8, +15 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:4517
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) bpftool 7.0.0-284.18.1.el9_2, kernel 5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, kernel-64k 5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, kernel-core 5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, kernel-tools 5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, python3-perf 5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, +29 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:3723
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.8.6) perf 4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6, kernel 4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6, bpftool 4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6, kernel-core 4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6, kernel-tools 4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6, python3-perf 4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6, +15 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:5627
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.9.0) kernel 5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, bpftool 5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, kernel-core 5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, kernel-tools 5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, python3-perf 5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, kernel-modules 5.14.0-70.64.1.el9_0, +14 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:4137
show 9 more
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:4517
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 9) kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:3723
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 8) kernel-rt 4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8, kernel-rt-kvm 4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8, kernel-rt-core 4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8, kernel-rt-modules 4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8, kernel-rt-debug-core 4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8, +4 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:4541
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt 5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2, kernel-rt-kvm 5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2, kernel-rt-core 5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2, kernel-rt-modules 5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2, kernel-rt-debug-core 5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2, +6 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:3708
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time EUS (v.9.0) kernel-rt 5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0, kernel-rt-core 5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0, kernel-rt-modules 5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0, kernel-rt-debug-core 5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0, kernel-rt-debug-modules 5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0, kernel-rt-modules-extra 5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0, +2 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV EUS (v.9.0) kernel-rt 5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0, kernel-rt-kvm 5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0, kernel-rt-core 5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0, kernel-rt-modules 5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0, kernel-rt-debug-core 5.14.0-70.64.1.rt21.135.el9_0, +4 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:4138
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 8) kernel-rt 4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8, kernel-rt-core 4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8, kernel-rt-modules 4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8, kernel-rt-debug-core 4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8, kernel-rt-debug-modules 4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8, kernel-rt-modules-extra 4.18.0-477.21.1.rt7.284.el8_8, +2 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:4541
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 9) kernel-rt 5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2, kernel-rt-core 5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2, kernel-rt-modules 5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2, kernel-rt-debug-core 5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2, kernel-rt-modules-core 5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2, kernel-rt-debug-modules 5.14.0-284.18.1.rt14.303.el9_2, +4 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:3708
  • Red Hat Virtualization 4 Hypervisor for RHEL 8 perf 4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:5627
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 perf, kernel, python-perf, kernel-kdump, kernel-firmware, kernel-bootwrapper, +1 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, python-perf, kernel-kdump, +8 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-doc 5.14.0-284.18.1.el9_2
    not affected: vulnerable code not present

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total
Assessed
20 mo ago

Exploit prediction

0.25% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 16% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 3.1 7.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 3.1 7.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

  • Linux Linux Kernel

Classification

Weakness
Technology feeds

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.