Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2023-52751 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) 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 15th 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
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-59470
Vulnerability Data
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: fix use-after-free in smb2_query_info_compound() The following UAF was triggered when running fstests generic/072 with KASAN enabled against Windows Server 2022 and mount options 'multichannel,max_channels=2,vers=3.1.1,mfsymlinks,noperm' BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in…
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smb2_query_info_compound+0x423/0x6d0 [cifs] Read of size 8 at addr ffff888014941048 by task xfs_io/27534 CPU: 0 PID: 27534 Comm: xfs_io Not tainted 6.6.0-rc7 #1 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.16.2-3-gd478f380-rebuilt.opensuse.org 04/01/2014 Call Trace: dump_stack_lvl+0x4a/0x80 print_report+0xcf/0x650 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0x7f ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0x7f ? __phys_addr+0x46/0x90 kasan_report+0xda/0x110 ? smb2_query_info_compound+0x423/0x6d0 [cifs] ? smb2_query_info_compound+0x423/0x6d0 [cifs] smb2_query_info_compound+0x423/0x6d0 [cifs] ? __pfx_smb2_query_info_compound+0x10/0x10 [cifs] ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0x7f ? __stack_depot_save+0x39/0x480 ? kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 ? kasan_set_track+0x25/0x30 ? ____kasan_slab_free+0x126/0x170 smb2_queryfs+0xc2/0x2c0 [cifs] ? __pfx_smb2_queryfs+0x10/0x10 [cifs] ? __pfx___lock_acquire+0x10/0x10 smb311_queryfs+0x210/0x220 [cifs] ? __pfx_smb311_queryfs+0x10/0x10 [cifs] ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0x7f ? __lock_acquire+0x480/0x26c0 ? lock_release+0x1ed/0x640 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0x7f ? do_raw_spin_unlock+0x9b/0x100 cifs_statfs+0x18c/0x4b0 [cifs] statfs_by_dentry+0x9b/0xf0 fd_statfs+0x4e/0xb0 __do_sys_fstatfs+0x7f/0xe0 ? __pfx___do_sys_fstatfs+0x10/0x10 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0x7f ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x136/0x200 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0x7f do_syscall_64+0x3f/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0xd8 Allocated by task 27534: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 kasan_set_track+0x25/0x30 __kasan_kmalloc+0x8f/0xa0 open_cached_dir+0x71b/0x1240 [cifs] smb2_query_info_compound+0x5c3/0x6d0 [cifs] smb2_queryfs+0xc2/0x2c0 [cifs] smb311_queryfs+0x210/0x220 [cifs] cifs_statfs+0x18c/0x4b0 [cifs] statfs_by_dentry+0x9b/0xf0 fd_statfs+0x4e/0xb0 __do_sys_fstatfs+0x7f/0xe0 do_syscall_64+0x3f/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0xd8 Freed by task 27534: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 kasan_set_track+0x25/0x30 kasan_save_free_info+0x2b/0x50 ____kasan_slab_free+0x126/0x170 slab_free_freelist_hook+0xd0/0x1e0 __kmem_cache_free+0x9d/0x1b0 open_cached_dir+0xff5/0x1240 [cifs] smb2_query_info_compound+0x5c3/0x6d0 [cifs] smb2_queryfs+0xc2/0x2c0 [cifs] This is a race between open_cached_dir() and cached_dir_lease_break() where the cache entry for the open directory handle receives a lease break while creating it. And before returning from open_cached_dir(), we put the last reference of the new @cfid because of !@cfid->has_lease. Besides the UAF, while running xfstests a lot of missed lease breaks have been noticed in tests that run several concurrent statfs(2) calls on those cached fids CIFS: VFS: \\w22-root1.gandalf.test No task to wake, unknown frame... CIFS: VFS: \\w22-root1.gandalf.test Cmd: 18 Err: 0x0 Flags: 0x1... CIFS: VFS: \\w22-root1.gandalf.test smb buf 00000000715bfe83 len 108 CIFS: VFS: Dump pending requests: CIFS: VFS: \\w22-root1.gandalf.test No task to wake, unknown frame... CIFS: VFS: \\w22-root1.gandalf.test Cmd: 18 Err: 0x0 Flags: 0x1... CIFS: VFS: \\w22-root1.gandalf.test smb buf 000000005aa7316e len 108 ... To fix both, in open_cached_dir() ensure that @cfid->has_lease is set right before sending out compounded request so that any potential lease break will be get processed by demultiplex thread while we're still caching @cfid. And, if open failed for some reason, re-check @cfid->has_lease to decide whether or not put lease reference.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
V1.4.3
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation can discover use-after-free bugs through dynamic analysis or fuzzing.
Engineering principles can require memory-safe constructs or languages that structurally avoid introducing use-after-free.
Process isolation confines the blast radius of use-after-free memory corruption to a single execution domain.
Memory protection controls limit exploitation impact by blocking unauthorized code execution from dangling pointers.
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.
Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.
Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.
Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.
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.
Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.
Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.
Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.
Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.
Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.
Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.
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-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
- V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
- V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416