CVE-2023-0240

There is a logic error in io_urings implementation which can be used to trigger a use-after-free vulnerability leading to privilege escalation.

In the io_prep_async_work function the assumption that the last io_grab_identity call cannot return false is not true, and in this case the function will use the init_cred or the previous linked requests identity to do operations instead of using the current identity. This can lead to reference counting issues causing use-after-free. We recommend upgrading past version 5.10.161.

Weakness

Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code.

Affected Software

Extended Description

The use of previously-freed memory can have any number of adverse consequences, ranging from the corruption of valid data to the execution of arbitrary code, depending on the instantiation and timing of the flaw. The simplest way data corruption may occur involves the system’s reuse of the freed memory. Use-after-free errors have two common and sometimes overlapping causes:

In this scenario, the memory in question is allocated to another pointer validly at some point after it has been freed. The original pointer to the freed memory is used again and points to somewhere within the new allocation. As the data is changed, it corrupts the validly used memory; this induces undefined behavior in the process. If the newly allocated data happens to hold a class, in C++ for example, various function pointers may be scattered within the heap data. If one of these function pointers is overwritten with an address to valid shellcode, execution of arbitrary code can be achieved.

Potential Mitigations

References

• https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/io_uring?h=linux-5.10.y\u0026id=788d0824269bef539fe31a785b1517882eafed93
• https://github.com/gregkh/linux/commit/1e6fa5216a0e59ef02e8b6b40d553238a3b81d49
• https://kernel.dance/#788d0824269bef539fe31a785b1517882eafed93