CVE-2023-52978

MEDIUM
Published Mar 27, 2025 Modified Oct 1, 2025

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: riscv: kprobe: Fixup kernel panic when probing an illegal position The kernel would panic when probed for an illegal position. eg: (CONFIG_RISCV_ISA_C=n) echo 'p:hello kernel_clone+0x16 a0=%a0' >> kprobe_events echo 1 > events/kprobes/hello/enable cat trace Kernel panic - not syncing: stack-protector: Kernel stack is corrupted in: __do_sys_newfstatat+0xb8/0xb8 CPU: 0 PID: 111 Comm: sh Not tainted 6.2.0-rc1-00027-g2d398fe49a4d #490 Hardware name: riscv-virtio,qemu (DT) Call Trace: [<ffffffff80007268>] dump_backtrace+0x38/0x48 [<ffffffff80c5e83c>] show_stack+0x50/0x68 [<ffffffff80c6da28>] dump_stack_lvl+0x60/0x84 [<ffffffff80c6da6c>] dump_stack+0x20/0x30 [<ffffffff80c5ecf4>] panic+0x160/0x374 [<ffffffff80c6db94>] generic_handle_arch_irq+0x0/0xa8 [<ffffffff802deeb0>] sys_newstat+0x0/0x30 [<ffffffff800158c0>] sys_clone+0x20/0x30 [<ffffffff800039e8>] ret_from_syscall+0x0/0x4 ---[ end Kernel panic - not syncing: stack-protector: Kernel stack is corrupted in: __do_sys_newfstatat+0xb8/0xb8 ]--- That is because the kprobe's ebreak instruction broke the kernel's original code. The user should guarantee the correction of the probe position, but it couldn't make the kernel panic. This patch adds arch_check_kprobe in arch_prepare_kprobe to prevent an illegal position (Such as the middle of an instruction).

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.5
MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-52978? +
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: riscv: kprobe: Fixup kernel panic when probing an illegal position The kernel would panic when probed for an illegal position. eg: (CONFIG_RISCV_ISA_C=n) echo 'p:hello kernel_clone+0x16 a0=%a0' >> kprobe_events echo 1 > events/kprobes/hello/enable cat trace Kernel panic - not syncing: stack-protector: Kernel stack is corrupted in: __do_sys_newfstatat+0xb8/0xb8 CPU: 0 PID: 111 Comm: sh Not tainted 6.2.0-rc1-00027-g2d398fe49a4d #490 Hardware name: riscv-virtio,qemu (DT) Call Trace: [<ffffffff80007268>] dump_backtrace+0x38/0x48 [<ffffffff80c5e83c>] show_stack+0x50/0x68 [<ffffffff80c6da28>] dump_stack_lvl+0x60/0x84 [<ffffffff80c6da6c>] dump_stack+0x20/0x30 [<ffffffff80c5ecf4>] panic+0x160/0x374 [<ffffffff80c6db94>] generic_handle_arch_irq+0x0/0xa8 [<ffffffff802deeb0>] sys_newstat+0x0/0x30 [<ffffffff800158c0>] sys_clone+0x20/0x30 [<ffffffff800039e8>] ret_from_syscall+0x0/0x4 ---[ end Kernel panic - not syncing: stack-protector: Kernel stack is corrupted in: __do_sys_newfstatat+0xb8/0xb8 ]--- That is because the kprobe's ebreak instruction broke the kernel's original code. The user should guarantee the correction of the probe position, but it couldn't make the kernel panic. This patch adds arch_check_kprobe in arch_prepare_kprobe to prevent an illegal position (Such as the middle of an instruction). It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2023-52978? +
CVE-2023-52978 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.
What products are affected by CVE-2023-52978? +
CVE-2023-52978 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-2023-52978? +
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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