#VU106189 NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2023-52976

Vulnerability identifier: #VU106189

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-2023-52976

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 efi_mem_reserve_persistent() function in drivers/firmware/efi/efi.c. A local user can perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 5.4, 5.4.0, 5.4.0 rc6, 5.4.1, 5.4.2, 5.4.3, 5.4.4, 5.4.5, 5.4.6, 5.4.7, 5.4.8, 5.4.9, 5.4.10, 5.4.11, 5.4.12, 5.4.13, 5.4.14, 5.4.15, 5.4.16, 5.4.17, 5.4.18, 5.4.19, 5.4.20, 5.4.21, 5.4.22, 5.4.23, 5.4.24, 5.4.25, 5.4.26, 5.4.27, 5.4.28, 5.4.29, 5.4.30, 5.4.31, 5.4.32, 5.4.33, 5.4.34, 5.4.35, 5.4.36, 5.4.37, 5.4.38, 5.4.39, 5.4.40, 5.4.41, 5.4.42, 5.4.43, 5.4.44, 5.4.45, 5.4.46, 5.4.47, 5.4.48, 5.4.49, 5.4.50, 5.4.51, 5.4.52, 5.4.53, 5.4.54, 5.4.55, 5.4.56, 5.4.57, 5.4.58, 5.4.59, 5.4.60, 5.4.61, 5.4.62, 5.4.63, 5.4.64, 5.4.65, 5.4.66, 5.4.67, 5.4.68, 5.4.69, 5.4.70, 5.4.71, 5.4.72, 5.4.73, 5.4.74, 5.4.75, 5.4.76, 5.4.77, 5.4.78, 5.4.79, 5.4.80, 5.4.81, 5.4.82, 5.4.83, 5.4.84, 5.4.85, 5.4.86, 5.4.87, 5.4.88, 5.4.89, 5.4.90, 5.4.91, 5.4.92, 5.4.93, 5.4.94, 5.4.95, 5.4.96, 5.4.97, 5.4.98, 5.4.99, 5.4.100, 5.4.101, 5.4.102, 5.4.103, 5.4.104, 5.4.105, 5.4.106, 5.4.107, 5.4.108, 5.4.109, 5.4.110, 5.4.111, 5.4.112, 5.4.113, 5.4.114, 5.4.115, 5.4.116, 5.4.117, 5.4.118, 5.4.119, 5.4.120, 5.4.121, 5.4.122, 5.4.123, 5.4.124, 5.4.125, 5.4.126, 5.4.127, 5.4.128, 5.4.129, 5.4.130, 5.4.131, 5.4.132, 5.4.133, 5.4.134, 5.4.135, 5.4.136, 5.4.137, 5.4.138, 5.4.139, 5.4.140, 5.4.141, 5.4.142, 5.4.143, 5.4.144, 5.4.145, 5.4.146, 5.4.147, 5.4.148, 5.4.149, 5.4.150, 5.4.151, 5.4.152, 5.4.153, 5.4.154, 5.4.155, 5.4.156, 5.4.157, 5.4.158, 5.4.159, 5.4.160, 5.4.161, 5.4.162, 5.4.163, 5.4.164, 5.4.165, 5.4.166, 5.4.167, 5.4.168, 5.4.169, 5.4.170, 5.4.171, 5.4.172, 5.4.173, 5.4.174, 5.4.175, 5.4.176, 5.4.177, 5.4.178, 5.4.179, 5.4.180, 5.4.181, 5.4.182, 5.4.183, 5.4.184, 5.4.185, 5.4.186, 5.4.187, 5.4.188, 5.4.189, 5.4.190, 5.4.191, 5.4.192, 5.4.193, 5.4.194, 5.4.195, 5.4.196, 5.4.197, 5.4.198, 5.4.199, 5.4.200, 5.4.201, 5.4.202, 5.4.203, 5.4.204, 5.4.205, 5.4.206, 5.4.207, 5.4.208, 5.4.209, 5.4.210, 5.4.211, 5.4.212, 5.4.213, 5.4.214, 5.4.215, 5.4.216, 5.4.217, 5.4.218, 5.4.219, 5.4.220, 5.4.221, 5.4.222, 5.4.223, 5.4.224, 5.4.225, 5.4.226, 5.4.227, 5.4.228, 5.4.229, 5.4.230, 5.4.231

---

External links
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/87d4ff18738fd71e7e3c10827c80257da6283697
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/966d47e1f27c45507c5df82b2a2157e5a4fd3909
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a2e6a9ff89f13666a1c3ff7195612ab949ea9afc
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d8fc0b5fb3e816a4a8684bcd3ed02cbef0fce23c
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d92a25627bcdf264183670da73c9a60c0bac327e
https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.4.232

---

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.