CVE-2023-54042

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No network or adjacent-network path exists to the VAS window close path.\nAC:L - The attacker fully controls the trigger: open a window and exit the process, at which point the VAS reference is deterministically the last `mm_count` reference, so `mmdrop()` frees the mm and the immediately following `mm_context_remove_vas_window()` dereferences it. No unwinnable race or uncontrollable precondition is involved, and the sequence can be repeated freely to groom `mm_cachep` reallocation.\nPR:L - Only an unprivileged local account is needed \u2014 there is no `capable()` or `CAP_*` check on any path from the ioctl to `vas_deallocate_window()`/`vas_win_close()`, and `Documentation/powerpc/vas-api.rst` states no special privileges are required to open the nx-gzip device, which is deliberately exposed to ordinary user-space compression libraries.\nUI:N - The attacking process performs every step itself (open, ioctl, exit); no action by another user or administrator is required.\nS:U - The corruption is confined to kernel memory managed by the same kernel security authority; no hypervisor, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary is crossed.\nC:H - The freed `mm_struct` is read after free \u2014 `context.id`, `context.copros`, `context.active_cpus`, `mm_users`, and `mm_cpumask()` \u2014 and `mm_cachep` objects are readily reallocated by forking, so the attacker can influence the contents read; a UAF of this kind is leverageable for kernel memory disclosure, and the corrupted TLB-flush scoping can leave stale translations exposing another process's memory.\nI:H - Multiple writes land in the freed object: `atomic_dec_if_positive()` on `context.copros`/`context.vas_windows`, plus cross-CPU `atomic_dec(&mm->context.active_cpus)`, `cpumask_clear_cpu()`, and a possible extra `mmdrop_lazy_tlb()` refcount underflow, giving write primitives into a reallocated live `mm_struct` (or SLUB freelist metadata) that are exploitable for further corruption.\nA:H - The use-after-free reliably corrupts freed slab memory and issues hardware TLB invalidations with a stale PID plus IPIs derived from a freed cpumask, producing oopses, `WARN_ON()` splats (fatal with `panic_on_warn`), slab corruption, and kernel panics \u2014 triggerable repeatedly by any local user."}]}], "affected": [{"product": "Linux", "vendor": "Linux", "defaultStatus": "unaffected", "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "programFiles": ["arch/powerpc/platforms/powernv/vas-window.c", "arch/powerpc/platforms/pseries/vas.c"], "versions": [{"version": "7bc6f71bdff5f8921e324da0a8fad6f4e2e63a85", "lessThan": "f7d92313002b2d543500cc417d8079aaed1fb0a8", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git"}, {"version": "7bc6f71bdff5f8921e324da0a8fad6f4e2e63a85", "lessThan": "4e82f92c349ea603736ade1e814861c0182a55ad", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git"}, {"version": "7bc6f71bdff5f8921e324da0a8fad6f4e2e63a85", "lessThan": "db8657fdd53c5e3069149d7f957cb60e63027bb2", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git"}, {"version": "7bc6f71bdff5f8921e324da0a8fad6f4e2e63a85", "lessThan": "421cd1544480f2458042fe7f4913a2069c4d7251", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git"}, {"version": "7bc6f71bdff5f8921e324da0a8fad6f4e2e63a85", "lessThan": "b4bda59b47879cce38a6ec5a01cd3cac702b5331", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git"}]}, {"product": "Linux", "vendor": "Linux", "defaultStatus": "affected", "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "programFiles": ["arch/powerpc/platforms/powernv/vas-window.c", "arch/powerpc/platforms/pseries/vas.c"], "versions": [{"version": "5.14", "status": "affected"}, {"version": "0", "lessThan": "5.14", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver"}, {"version": "5.15.121", "lessThanOrEqual": "5.15.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver"}, {"version": "6.1.39", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver"}, {"version": "6.3.13", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.3.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver"}, {"version": "6.4.4", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.4.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver"}, {"version": "6.5", "lessThanOrEqual": "*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"}]}], "cpeApplicability": [{"nodes": [{"operator": "OR", "negate": false, "cpeMatch": [{"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "5.14", "versionEndExcluding": "5.15.121"}, {"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "5.14", "versionEndExcluding": "6.1.39"}, {"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "5.14", "versionEndExcluding": "6.3.13"}, {"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "5.14", "versionEndExcluding": "6.4.4"}, {"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "5.14", "versionEndExcluding": "6.5"}]}]}], "references": [{"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f7d92313002b2d543500cc417d8079aaed1fb0a8"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4e82f92c349ea603736ade1e814861c0182a55ad"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/db8657fdd53c5e3069149d7f957cb60e63027bb2"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/421cd1544480f2458042fe7f4913a2069c4d7251"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b4bda59b47879cce38a6ec5a01cd3cac702b5331"}], "title": "powerpc/64s: Fix VAS mm use after free", "x_generator": {"engine": "bippy-1.2.0"}}, "adp": [{"metrics": [{"other": {"type": "ssvc", "content": {"id": "CVE-2023-54042", "role": "CISA Coordinator", "options": [{"Exploitation": "none"}, {"Automatable": "no"}, {"Technical Impact": "total"}], "version": "2.0.3", "timestamp": "2026-10-15T21:37:58.217277Z"}}}], "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment", "providerMetadata": {"orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0", "shortName": "CISA-ADP", "dateUpdated": "2026-10-15T21:41:38.268Z"}}]}}

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No network or adjacent-network path exists to the VAS window close path.\nAC:L - The attacker fully controls the trigger: open a window and exit the process, at which point the VAS reference is deterministically the last `mm_count` reference, so `mmdrop()` frees the mm and the immediately following `mm_context_remove_vas_window()` dereferences it. No unwinnable race or uncontrollable precondition is involved, and the sequence can be repeated freely to groom `mm_cachep` reallocation.\nPR:L - Only an unprivileged local account is needed \u2014 there is no `capable()` or `CAP_*` check on any path from the ioctl to `vas_deallocate_window()`/`vas_win_close()`, and `Documentation/powerpc/vas-api.rst` states no special privileges are required to open the nx-gzip device, which is deliberately exposed to ordinary user-space compression libraries.\nUI:N - The attacking process performs every step itself (open, ioctl, exit); no action by another user or administrator is required.\nS:U - The corruption is confined to kernel memory managed by the same kernel security authority; no hypervisor, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary is crossed.\nC:H - The freed `mm_struct` is read after free \u2014 `context.id`, `context.copros`, `context.active_cpus`, `mm_users`, and `mm_cpumask()` \u2014 and `mm_cachep` objects are readily reallocated by forking, so the attacker can influence the contents read; a UAF of this kind is leverageable for kernel memory disclosure, and the corrupted TLB-flush scoping can leave stale translations exposing another process's memory.\nI:H - Multiple writes land in the freed object: `atomic_dec_if_positive()` on `context.copros`/`context.vas_windows`, plus cross-CPU `atomic_dec(&mm->context.active_cpus)`, `cpumask_clear_cpu()`, and a possible extra `mmdrop_lazy_tlb()` refcount underflow, giving write primitives into a reallocated live `mm_struct` (or SLUB freelist metadata) that are exploitable for further corruption.\nA:H - The use-after-free reliably corrupts freed slab memory and issues hardware TLB invalidations with a stale PID plus IPIs derived from a freed cpumask, producing oopses, `WARN_ON()` splats (fatal with `panic_on_warn`), slab corruption, and kernel panics \u2014 triggerable repeatedly by any local user."}]}], "affected": [{"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "vendor": "Linux", "product": "Linux", "versions": [{"status": "affected", "version": "7bc6f71bdff5f8921e324da0a8fad6f4e2e63a85", "lessThan": "f7d92313002b2d543500cc417d8079aaed1fb0a8", "versionType": "git"}, {"status": "affected", "version": "7bc6f71bdff5f8921e324da0a8fad6f4e2e63a85", "lessThan": "4e82f92c349ea603736ade1e814861c0182a55ad", "versionType": "git"}, {"status": "affected", "version": "7bc6f71bdff5f8921e324da0a8fad6f4e2e63a85", "lessThan": "db8657fdd53c5e3069149d7f957cb60e63027bb2", "versionType": "git"}, {"status": "affected", "version": "7bc6f71bdff5f8921e324da0a8fad6f4e2e63a85", "lessThan": "421cd1544480f2458042fe7f4913a2069c4d7251", "versionType": "git"}, {"status": "affected", "version": "7bc6f71bdff5f8921e324da0a8fad6f4e2e63a85", "lessThan": "b4bda59b47879cce38a6ec5a01cd3cac702b5331", "versionType": "git"}], "programFiles": ["arch/powerpc/platforms/powernv/vas-window.c", "arch/powerpc/platforms/pseries/vas.c"], "defaultStatus": "unaffected"}, {"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "vendor": "Linux", "product": "Linux", "versions": [{"status": "affected", "version": "5.14"}, {"status": "unaffected", "version": "0", "lessThan": "5.14", "versionType": "semver"}, {"status": "unaffected", "version": "5.15.121", "versionType": "semver", "lessThanOrEqual": "5.15.*"}, {"status": "unaffected", "version": "6.1.39", "versionType": "semver", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*"}, {"status": "unaffected", "version": "6.3.13", "versionType": "semver", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.3.*"}, {"status": "unaffected", "version": "6.4.4", "versionType": "semver", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.4.*"}, {"status": "unaffected", "version": "6.5", "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix", "lessThanOrEqual": "*"}], "programFiles": ["arch/powerpc/platforms/powernv/vas-window.c", "arch/powerpc/platforms/pseries/vas.c"], "defaultStatus": "affected"}], "references": [{"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f7d92313002b2d543500cc417d8079aaed1fb0a8"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4e82f92c349ea603736ade1e814861c0182a55ad"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/db8657fdd53c5e3069149d7f957cb60e63027bb2"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/421cd1544480f2458042fe7f4913a2069c4d7251"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b4bda59b47879cce38a6ec5a01cd3cac702b5331"}], "x_generator": {"engine": "bippy-1.2.0"}, "descriptions": [{"lang": "en", "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\npowerpc/64s: Fix VAS mm use after free\n\nThe refcount on mm is dropped before the coprocessor is detached."}], "cpeApplicability": [{"nodes": [{"negate": false, "cpeMatch": [{"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "vulnerable": true, "versionEndExcluding": "5.15.121", "versionStartIncluding": "5.14"}, {"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "vulnerable": true, "versionEndExcluding": "6.1.39", "versionStartIncluding": "5.14"}, {"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "vulnerable": true, "versionEndExcluding": "6.3.13", "versionStartIncluding": "5.14"}, {"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "vulnerable": true, "versionEndExcluding": "6.4.4", "versionStartIncluding": "5.14"}, {"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "vulnerable": true, "versionEndExcluding": "6.5", "versionStartIncluding": "5.14"}], "operator": "OR"}]}], "providerMetadata": {"orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "shortName": "Linux", "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T09:16:42.390Z"}}}, "cveMetadata": {"cveId": "CVE-2023-54042", "state": "PUBLISHED", "dateUpdated": "2026-10-15T21:41:38.268Z", "dateReserved": "2025-12-24T10:53:46.181Z", "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "datePublished": "2025-12-24T10:56:07.565Z", "assignerShortName": "Linux"}, "dataVersion": "5.2"}

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{"bugzilla": {"description": "kernel: powerpc/64s: Fix VAS mm use after free", "id": "2424975", "url": "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2424975"}, "csaw": false, "cvss3": {"cvss3_base_score": "5.5", "cvss3_scoring_vector": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H", "status": "draft"}, "details": ["In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\npowerpc/64s: Fix VAS mm use after free\nThe refcount on mm is dropped before the coprocessor is detached."], "name": "CVE-2023-54042", "package_state": [{"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10", "fix_state": "Not affected", "package_name": "kernel", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6", "fix_state": "Not affected", "package_name": "kernel", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7", "fix_state": "Not affected", "package_name": "kernel", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7", "fix_state": "Not affected", "package_name": "kernel-rt", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8", "fix_state": "Fix deferred", "package_name": "kernel", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8", "fix_state": "Fix deferred", "package_name": "kernel-rt", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9", "fix_state": "Fix deferred", "package_name": "kernel", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9", "fix_state": "Fix deferred", "package_name": "kernel-rt", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9"}], "public_date": "2025-12-24T00:00:00Z", "references": ["https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-54042\nhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-54042\nhttps://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2025122440-CVE-2023-54042-2617@gregkh/T"], "threat_severity": "Low"}

{}