CVE-2023-52499: linux kernel — Fix

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc/47x: Fix 47x syscall return crash Eddie reported that newer kernels were crashing during boot on his 476 FSP2 system: kernel tried to execute user page (b7ee2000) - exploit attempt? (uid: 0) BUG: Unable to handle kernel instruction fetch Faulting instruction address: 0xb7ee2000 Oops: Kernel access of bad area, sig: 11 [#1] BE PAGE_SIZE=4K FSP-2 Modules linked in: CPU: 0 PID: 61 Comm: mount Not tainted 6.1.55-d23900f.ppcnf-fsp2 #1 Hardware name: ibm,fsp2 476fpe 0x7ff520c0 FSP-2 NIP: b7ee2000 LR: 8c008000 CTR: 00000000 REGS: bffebd83 TRAP: 0400 Not tainted (6.1.55-d23900f.ppcnf-fs p2) MSR: 00000030 <IR,DR> CR: 00001000 XER: 20000000 GPR00: c00110ac bffebe63 bffebe7e bffebe88 8c008000 00001000 00000d12 b7ee2000 GPR08: 00000033 00000000 00000000 c139df10 48224824 1016c314 10160000 00000000 GPR16: 10160000 10160000 00000008 00000000 10160000 00000000 10160000 1017f5b0 GPR24: 1017fa50 1017f4f0 1017fa50 1017f740 1017f630 00000000 00000000 1017f4f0 NIP [b7ee2000] 0xb7ee2000 LR [8c008000] 0x8c008000 Call Trace: Instruction dump: XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- The problem is in ret_from_syscall where the check for icache_44x_need_flush is done. When the flush is needed the code jumps out-of-line to do the flush, and then intends to jump back to continue the syscall return. However the branch back to label 1b doesn't return to the correct location, instead branching back just prior to the return to userspace, causing bogus register values to be used by the rfi. The breakage was introduced by commit 6f76a01173cc ("powerpc/syscall: implement system call entry/exit logic in C for PPC32") which inadvertently removed the "1" label and reused it elsewhere. Fix it by adding named local labels in the correct locations. Note that the return label needs to be outside the ifdef so that CONFIG_PPC_47x=n compiles.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.5

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
linux	linux_kernel	5.12 — 5.15.137
linux	linux_kernel	5.16 — 6.1.59
linux	linux_kernel	6.2 — 6.5.8
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All

References

Advisories & Patches

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/29017ab1a539101d9c7bec63cc13a019f97b2820 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/70f6756ad96dd70177dddcfac2fe4bd4bb320746 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8ac2689502f986a46f4221e239d4ff2897f1ccb3 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f0eee815babed70a749d2496a7678be5b45b4c14 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/29017ab1a539101d9c7bec63cc13a019f97b2820 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/70f6756ad96dd70177dddcfac2fe4bd4bb320746 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8ac2689502f986a46f4221e239d4ff2897f1ccb3 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f0eee815babed70a749d2496a7678be5b45b4c14

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-52499? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc/47x: Fix 47x syscall return crash Eddie reported that newer kernels were crashing during boot on his 476 FSP2 system: kernel tried to execute user page (b7ee2000) - exploit attempt? (uid: 0) BUG: Unable to handle kernel instruction fetch Faulting instruction address: 0xb7ee2000 Oops: Kernel access of bad area, sig: 11 [#1] BE PAGE_SIZE=4K FSP-2 Modules linked in: CPU: 0 PID: 61 Comm: mount Not tainted 6.1.55-d23900f.ppcnf-fsp2 #1 Hardware name: ibm,fsp2 476fpe 0x7ff520c0 FSP-2 NIP: b7ee2000 LR: 8c008000 CTR: 00000000 REGS: bffebd83 TRAP: 0400 Not tainted (6.1.55-d23900f.ppcnf-fs p2) MSR: 00000030 <IR,DR> CR: 00001000 XER: 20000000 GPR00: c00110ac bffebe63 bffebe7e bffebe88 8c008000 00001000 00000d12 b7ee2000 GPR08: 00000033 00000000 00000000 c139df10 48224824 1016c314 10160000 00000000 GPR16: 10160000 10160000 00000008 00000000 10160000 00000000 10160000 1017f5b0 GPR24: 1017fa50 1017f4f0 1017fa50 1017f740 1017f630 00000000 00000000 1017f4f0 NIP [b7ee2000] 0xb7ee2000 LR [8c008000] 0x8c008000 Call Trace: Instruction dump: XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- The problem is in ret_from_syscall where the check for icache_44x_need_flush is done. When the flush is needed the code jumps out-of-line to do the flush, and then intends to jump back to continue the syscall return. However the branch back to label 1b doesn't return to the correct location, instead branching back just prior to the return to userspace, causing bogus register values to be used by the rfi. The breakage was introduced by commit 6f76a01173cc ("powerpc/syscall: implement system call entry/exit logic in C for PPC32") which inadvertently removed the "1" label and reused it elsewhere. Fix it by adding named local labels in the correct locations. Note that the return label needs to be outside the ifdef so that CONFIG_PPC_47x=n compiles. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2023-52499? +

CVE-2023-52499 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2023-52499? +

CVE-2023-52499 affects products from linux, specifically: linux_kernel. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2023-52499? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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CVE-2023-52499