#VU90417 NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2023-52779

Vulnerability identifier: #VU90417

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 4.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2023-52779

CWE-ID: CWE-476

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Linux kernel
Operating systems & Components / Operating system

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The vulnerability exists due to NULL pointer dereference within the vfs_getattr_nosec() and vfs_getattr() functions in fs/stat.c, within the ovl_getattr() function in fs/overlayfs/inode.c, within the ecryptfs_getattr_link() and ecryptfs_getattr() functions in fs/ecryptfs/inode.c. A local user can perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 6.6, 6.6 rc1, 6.6 rc2, 6.6 rc3, 6.6 rc4, 6.6 rc5, 6.6 rc6, 6.6.1, 6.6.2, 6.6.3, 6.7 rc1, 6.7 rc2, 6.7 rc3, 6.7 rc5, 6.7 rc6, 6.7 rc7

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External links
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3fb0fa08641903304b9d81d52a379ff031dc41d4
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8a924db2d7b5eb69ba08b1a0af46e9f1359a9bdf
https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v6.x/ChangeLog-6.6.4
https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v6.x/ChangeLog-6.7

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.