Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-52679

Memory Safety in Linux Kernel 4.17 – 4.19.306

Published
17 May 2024
Modified
04 August 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0025 16th percentile
Risk Priority 56 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-52679 is a high-severity Double Free (CWE-415) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 16th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-8 (Security and Privacy Engineering Principles) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: of: Fix double free in of_parse_phandle_with_args_map In of_parse_phandle_with_args_map() the inner loop that iterates through the map entries calls of_node_put(new) to free the reference acquired by the previous iteration of the…

more

inner loop. This assumes that the value of "new" is NULL on the first iteration of the inner loop. Make sure that this is true in all iterations of the outer loop by setting "new" to NULL after its value is assigned to "cur". Extend the unittest to detect the double free and add an additional test case that actually triggers this path.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
T1499 Endpoint Denial of Service Impact
Adversaries may perform Endpoint Denial of Service (DoS) attacks to degrade or block the availability of services to users.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

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CVE-2023-52691Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-39914Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2024-35847Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-39870Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-38699Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-38313Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-37914Same product: Debian Debian Linux

Affected Assets

linux
linux kernel
4.17 — 4.19.306 · 4.20 — 5.4.268 · 5.5 — 5.10.209
debian
debian linux
10.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 1 hardening rule · 1 OS baseline
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation explicitly includes dynamic analysis and fuzzing that locate double-free defects before release.

Security engineering principles can require memory-safe allocation patterns or language features that structurally eliminate double-free opportunities.

Flaw remediation processes require identification and correction of memory-management defects such as double free once discovered.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 full match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent double-free errors via static analysis, safe memory APIs, and testing.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing in development can detect double-free conditions before release.

prevents

Secure development life cycle includes memory-safety practices that can prevent double-free bugs.

prevents

Application security requirements can mandate memory-safety rules that reduce double-free risk.

prevents

Secure system architecture and engineering principles can prescribe safe memory-management patterns.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly address proper use of free() and similar functions.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248590 OL 8 must clear the page allocator to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-415

References