CVE-2023-52836

HIGH
Published May 21, 2024 Modified Sep 23, 2025 CWE-787

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: locking/ww_mutex/test: Fix potential workqueue corruption In some cases running with the test-ww_mutex code, I was seeing odd behavior where sometimes it seemed flush_workqueue was returning before all the work threads were finished. Often this would cause strange crashes as the mutexes would be freed while they were being used. Looking at the code, there is a lifetime problem as the controlling thread that spawns the work allocates the "struct stress" structures that are passed to the workqueue threads. Then when the workqueue threads are finished, they free the stress struct that was passed to them. Unfortunately the workqueue work_struct node is in the stress struct. Which means the work_struct is freed before the work thread returns and while flush_workqueue is waiting. It seems like a better idea to have the controlling thread both allocate and free the stress structures, so that we can be sure we don't corrupt the workqueue by freeing the structure prematurely. So this patch reworks the test to do so, and with this change I no longer see the early flush_workqueue returns.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.8
HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write

Affected Products

Vendor Product
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel

References

Advisories & Patches

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/304a2c4aad0fff887ce493e4197bf9cbaf394479 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9ed2d68b3925145f5f51c46559484881d6082f75 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bccdd808902f8c677317cec47c306e42b93b849e https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c56df79d68677cf062da1b6e3b33e74299a92dfc https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d4d37c9e6a4dbcca958dabd99216550525c7e389 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d8267cabbe1bed15ccf8b0e684c528bf8eeef715 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dcd85e3c929368076a7592b27f541e0da8b427f5 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e36407713163363e65566e7af0abe207d5f59a0c https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e89d0ed45a419c485bae999426ecf92697cbdda3 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/304a2c4aad0fff887ce493e4197bf9cbaf394479 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9ed2d68b3925145f5f51c46559484881d6082f75 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bccdd808902f8c677317cec47c306e42b93b849e https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c56df79d68677cf062da1b6e3b33e74299a92dfc https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d4d37c9e6a4dbcca958dabd99216550525c7e389 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d8267cabbe1bed15ccf8b0e684c528bf8eeef715 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dcd85e3c929368076a7592b27f541e0da8b427f5 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e36407713163363e65566e7af0abe207d5f59a0c https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e89d0ed45a419c485bae999426ecf92697cbdda3

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-52836? +
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: locking/ww_mutex/test: Fix potential workqueue corruption In some cases running with the test-ww_mutex code, I was seeing odd behavior where sometimes it seemed flush_workqueue was returning before all the work threads were finished. Often this would cause strange crashes as the mutexes would be freed while they were being used. Looking at the code, there is a lifetime problem as the controlling thread that spawns the work allocates the "struct stress" structures that are passed to the workqueue threads. Then when the workqueue threads are finished, they free the stress struct that was passed to them. Unfortunately the workqueue work_struct node is in the stress struct. Which means the work_struct is freed before the work thread returns and while flush_workqueue is waiting. It seems like a better idea to have the controlling thread both allocate and free the stress structures, so that we can be sure we don't corrupt the workqueue by freeing the structure prematurely. So this patch reworks the test to do so, and with this change I no longer see the early flush_workqueue returns. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH).
How severe is CVE-2023-52836? +
CVE-2023-52836 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching.
What products are affected by CVE-2023-52836? +
CVE-2023-52836 affects products from linux, specifically: linux_kernel. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.
How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2023-52836? +
You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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