Vulnerability-Lookup

FKIE_CVE-2023-54139

Vulnerability from fkie_nvd - Published: 2025-12-24 13:16 - Updated: 2026-08-04 10:19

Severity

7.8 (High) - CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing/user_events: Ensure write index cannot be negative The write index indicates which event the data is for and accesses a per-file array. The index is passed by user processes during write() calls as the first 4 bytes. Ensure that it cannot be negative by returning -EINVAL to prevent out of bounds accesses. Update ftrace self-test to ensure this occurs properly.

References

	URL	Tags
	416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0489c2b2c3104b89f078dbcec8c744dfc157d3e9
	416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4fe46b5adf18e3dc606e62c9e6a0413398a17572
	416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cd98c93286a30cc4588dfd02453bec63c2f4acf4
	416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fa7f2f5d1739452280c22727c4384a52b72ab5de

Impacted products

	Vendor	Product	Version

JSON

To clipboard

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "affectedData": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "kernel/trace/trace_events_user.c",
            "tools/testing/selftests/user_events/ftrace_test.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThan": "0489c2b2c3104b89f078dbcec8c744dfc157d3e9",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "7f5a08c79df35e68f1a43033450c5050f12bc155",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "4fe46b5adf18e3dc606e62c9e6a0413398a17572",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "7f5a08c79df35e68f1a43033450c5050f12bc155",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "fa7f2f5d1739452280c22727c4384a52b72ab5de",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "7f5a08c79df35e68f1a43033450c5050f12bc155",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "cd98c93286a30cc4588dfd02453bec63c2f4acf4",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "7f5a08c79df35e68f1a43033450c5050f12bc155",
              "versionType": "git"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "defaultStatus": "affected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "kernel/trace/trace_events_user.c",
            "tools/testing/selftests/user_events/ftrace_test.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "5.18"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "5.18",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.1.28",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.2.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.2.15",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.3.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.3.2",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.4",
              "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"
    }
  ],
  "cveTags": [],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\ntracing/user_events: Ensure write index cannot be negative\n\nThe write index indicates which event the data is for and accesses a\nper-file array. The index is passed by user processes during write()\ncalls as the first 4 bytes. Ensure that it cannot be negative by\nreturning -EINVAL to prevent out of bounds accesses.\n\nUpdate ftrace self-test to ensure this occurs properly."
    }
  ],
  "id": "CVE-2023-54139",
  "lastModified": "2026-08-04T10:19:31.110",
  "metrics": {
    "cvssMetricV31": [
      {
        "cvssData": {
          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "attackVector": "LOCAL",
          "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
          "baseScore": 7.8,
          "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
          "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
          "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
          "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
          "version": "3.1"
        },
        "exploitabilityScore": 1.8,
        "impactScore": 5.9,
        "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "type": "Secondary"
      }
    ]
  },
  "published": "2025-12-24T13:16:15.900",
  "references": [
    {
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0489c2b2c3104b89f078dbcec8c744dfc157d3e9"
    },
    {
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4fe46b5adf18e3dc606e62c9e6a0413398a17572"
    },
    {
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cd98c93286a30cc4588dfd02453bec63c2f4acf4"
    },
    {
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fa7f2f5d1739452280c22727c4384a52b72ab5de"
    }
  ],
  "sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
  "vulnStatus": "Deferred"
}

CVE-2023-54139 (GCVE-0-2023-54139)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2025-12-24 13:06 – Updated: 2026-08-05 09:17

Title

tracing/user_events: Ensure write index cannot be negative

Summary

Severity

7.8 (High)


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

Assigner

Linux

References

4 references

URL	Tags
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0489c2b2c3104b89f…
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4fe46b5adf18e3dc6…
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fa7f2f5d173945228…
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cd98c93286a30cc45…

Impacted products

2 products

Vendor	Product	Version
Linux	Linux	Affected: 7f5a08c79df35e68f1a43033450c5050f12bc155 , < 0489c2b2c3104b89f078dbcec8c744dfc157d3e9 (git) Affected: 7f5a08c79df35e68f1a43033450c5050f12bc155 , < 4fe46b5adf18e3dc606e62c9e6a0413398a17572 (git) Affected: 7f5a08c79df35e68f1a43033450c5050f12bc155 , < fa7f2f5d1739452280c22727c4384a52b72ab5de (git) Affected: 7f5a08c79df35e68f1a43033450c5050f12bc155 , < cd98c93286a30cc4588dfd02453bec63c2f4acf4 (git)
Linux	Linux	Affected: 5.18 Unaffected: 0 , < 5.18 (semver) Unaffected: 6.1.28 , ≤ 6.1.* (semver) Unaffected: 6.2.15 , ≤ 6.2.* (semver) Unaffected: 6.3.2 , ≤ 6.3.* (semver) Unaffected: 6.4 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix)

Show details on NVD website

JSON

To clipboard

{
  "containers": {
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "kernel/trace/trace_events_user.c",
            "tools/testing/selftests/user_events/ftrace_test.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThan": "0489c2b2c3104b89f078dbcec8c744dfc157d3e9",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "7f5a08c79df35e68f1a43033450c5050f12bc155",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "4fe46b5adf18e3dc606e62c9e6a0413398a17572",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "7f5a08c79df35e68f1a43033450c5050f12bc155",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "fa7f2f5d1739452280c22727c4384a52b72ab5de",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "7f5a08c79df35e68f1a43033450c5050f12bc155",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "cd98c93286a30cc4588dfd02453bec63c2f4acf4",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "7f5a08c79df35e68f1a43033450c5050f12bc155",
              "versionType": "git"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "defaultStatus": "affected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "kernel/trace/trace_events_user.c",
            "tools/testing/selftests/user_events/ftrace_test.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "5.18"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "5.18",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.1.28",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.2.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.2.15",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.3.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.3.2",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.4",
              "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "cpeApplicability": [
        {
          "nodes": [
            {
              "cpeMatch": [
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.1.28",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "5.18",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.2.15",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "5.18",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.3.2",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "5.18",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.4",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "5.18",
                  "vulnerable": true
                }
              ],
              "negate": false,
              "operator": "OR"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\ntracing/user_events: Ensure write index cannot be negative\n\nThe write index indicates which event the data is for and accesses a\nper-file array. The index is passed by user processes during write()\ncalls as the first 4 bytes. Ensure that it cannot be negative by\nreturning -EINVAL to prevent out of bounds accesses.\n\nUpdate ftrace self-test to ensure this occurs properly."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "cvssV3_1": {
            "baseScore": 7.8,
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
            "version": "3.1"
          },
          "scenarios": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "AV:L - The vulnerability is reached only through local file operations \u2014 `ioctl()`/`write()`/`writev()` on the tracefs file `/sys/kernel/tracing/user_events_data`. There is no network or remote-peer data path into `user_events_write_core()`.\nAC:L - Triggering is fully deterministic \u2014 the attacker registers an event, then writes a payload whose first 4 bytes are a negative integer, and the signed comparison `idx \u003c refs-\u003ecount` is bypassed every time. No race, timing window, or condition outside the attacker\u0027s control is involved, and the attacker can freely groom the slab to influence what the OOB read returns.\nPR:L - The registration ioctl and the write path contain no capability checks; the only gate is write access to the tracefs `user_events_data` file, which this feature exists specifically to grant to ordinary unprivileged applications (via tracefs `gid=` mounts or relaxed permissions in tracing-enabled deployments). An unprivileged local user with the intended tracing access can trigger it, so no administrative privilege is needed.\nUI:N - The attacker performs the entire sequence \u2014 open, `DIAG_IOCSREG`, then a `writev()` with a negative index \u2014 within their own process. No victim action, mount, or interaction of any kind is required.\nS:U - The out-of-bounds access and resulting type confusion occur entirely within the kernel\u0027s own memory and security authority. There is no crossing of a VM, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary \u2014 this is a standard local kernel compromise.\nC:H - A negative index yields a pointer-sized out-of-bounds read anywhere within roughly 16 GB below the `user_event_refs` allocation, and the resulting bogus `struct user_event *` is dereferenced to read `min_size`, `tracepoint`, and `call` fields, whose contents are then emitted into trace/perf buffers readable by the attacker. This constitutes an effectively arbitrary kernel-memory read primitive.\nI:H - The OOB-read value is used as a `struct user_event *` and reaches `probe_func = probe_func_ptr-\u003efunc; probe_func(user, ...)`, an indirect call through an attacker-influenced pointer chain. Combined with heap grooming of the small `kmalloc` slab, this gives type confusion escalating to control-flow hijack and arbitrary kernel writes.\nA:H - Even without any exploitation effort, indexing arbitrarily far below the allocation and dereferencing the resulting garbage pointer reliably produces a kernel oops or panic. The fault is trivially and repeatedly reproducible by an unprivileged process, making it a dependable local denial of service."
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T09:17:34.267Z",
        "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "shortName": "Linux"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0489c2b2c3104b89f078dbcec8c744dfc157d3e9"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4fe46b5adf18e3dc606e62c9e6a0413398a17572"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fa7f2f5d1739452280c22727c4384a52b72ab5de"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cd98c93286a30cc4588dfd02453bec63c2f4acf4"
        }
      ],
      "title": "tracing/user_events: Ensure write index cannot be negative",
      "x_generator": {
        "engine": "bippy-1.2.0"
      }
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
    "assignerShortName": "Linux",
    "cveId": "CVE-2023-54139",
    "datePublished": "2025-12-24T13:06:54.094Z",
    "dateReserved": "2025-12-24T13:02:52.522Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T09:17:34.267Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2"
}

Sightings

Author	Source	Type	Date	Other

Nomenclature

Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.

Detection rules are retrieved from Rulezet.

The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base model, served locally by ML-Gateway. They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.

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FKIE_CVE-2023-54139

CVE-2023-54139 (GCVE-0-2023-54139)

Tags

Sightings

Nomenclature