{"id":"CVE-2023-52854","summary":"padata: Fix refcnt handling in padata_free_shell()","details":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\npadata: Fix refcnt handling in padata_free_shell()\n\nIn a high-load arm64 environment, the pcrypt_aead01 test in LTP can lead\nto system UAF (Use-After-Free) issues. Due to the lengthy analysis of\nthe pcrypt_aead01 function call, I'll describe the problem scenario\nusing a simplified model:\n\nSuppose there's a user of padata named `user_function` that adheres to\nthe padata requirement of calling `padata_free_shell` after `serial()`\nhas been invoked, as demonstrated in the following code:\n\n```c\nstruct request {\n    struct padata_priv padata;\n    struct completion *done;\n};\n\nvoid parallel(struct padata_priv *padata) {\n    do_something();\n}\n\nvoid serial(struct padata_priv *padata) {\n    struct request *request = container_of(padata,\n    \t\t\t\tstruct request,\n\t\t\t\tpadata);\n    complete(request-\u003edone);\n}\n\nvoid user_function() {\n    DECLARE_COMPLETION(done)\n    padata-\u003eparallel = parallel;\n    padata-\u003eserial = serial;\n    padata_do_parallel();\n    wait_for_completion(&done);\n    padata_free_shell();\n}\n```\n\nIn the corresponding padata.c file, there's the following code:\n\n```c\nstatic void padata_serial_worker(struct work_struct *serial_work) {\n    ...\n    cnt = 0;\n\n    while (!list_empty(&local_list)) {\n        ...\n        padata-\u003eserial(padata);\n        cnt++;\n    }\n\n    local_bh_enable();\n\n    if (refcount_sub_and_test(cnt, &pd-\u003erefcnt))\n        padata_free_pd(pd);\n}\n```\n\nBecause of the high system load and the accumulation of unexecuted\nsoftirq at this moment, `local_bh_enable()` in padata takes longer\nto execute than usual. Subsequently, when accessing `pd-\u003erefcnt`,\n`pd` has already been released by `padata_free_shell()`, resulting\nin a UAF issue with `pd-\u003erefcnt`.\n\nThe fix is straightforward: add `refcount_dec_and_test` before calling\n`padata_free_pd` in `padata_free_shell`.","modified":"2026-04-11T12:46:37.333522Z","published":"2024-05-21T15:31:49.235Z","related":["SUSE-SU-2024:2008-1","SUSE-SU-2024:2011-1","SUSE-SU-2024:2019-1","SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1","SUSE-SU-2024:2190-1","SUSE-SU-2024:2571-1","SUSE-SU-2024:2896-1","SUSE-SU-2024:2973-1","SUSE-SU-2024:3225-1","SUSE-SU-2024:3249-1","SUSE-SU-2024:3499-1","SUSE-SU-2025:20008-1","SUSE-SU-2025:20028-1"],"database_specific":{"osv_generated_from":"https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2023/52xxx/CVE-2023-52854.json","cna_assigner":"Linux"},"references":[{"type":"WEB","url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0dd34a7ad395dbcf6ae60e48e9786050e25b9bc5"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1734a79e951914f1db2c65e635012a35db1c674b"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1e901bcb8af19416b65f5063a4af7996e5a51d7f"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/41aad9d6953984d134fc50f631f24ef476875d4d"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7ddc21e317b360c3444de3023bcc83b85fabae2f"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c7c26d0ef5d20f00dbb2ae3befcabbe0efa77275"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2023/52xxx/CVE-2023-52854.json"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52854"},{"type":"PACKAGE","url":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git"}],"affected":[{"ranges":[{"type":"GIT","repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","events":[{"introduced":"07928d9bfc81640bab36f5190e8725894d93b659"},{"fixed":"41aad9d6953984d134fc50f631f24ef476875d4d"},{"fixed":"0dd34a7ad395dbcf6ae60e48e9786050e25b9bc5"},{"fixed":"c7c26d0ef5d20f00dbb2ae3befcabbe0efa77275"},{"fixed":"1e901bcb8af19416b65f5063a4af7996e5a51d7f"},{"fixed":"1734a79e951914f1db2c65e635012a35db1c674b"},{"fixed":"7ddc21e317b360c3444de3023bcc83b85fabae2f"}]},{"type":"GIT","repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"last_affected":"13721e447acc2b82c19cf72e9e6c4291c77693ed"},{"last_affected":"7a2ccb65f90168edc2348495bb56093c466ffa39"},{"last_affected":"928cf3d733c4efc221e1a78b14cb2ee066627260"},{"last_affected":"c9da8ee1491719001a444f4af688b75e72b58418"},{"last_affected":"dc34710a7aba5207e7cb99d11588c04535b3c53d"},{"last_affected":"5fefc9b3e3584a1ce98da27c38e1b8dda1939d74"},{"last_affected":"26daf8e6515c2dcd25d235468420b9f46e0acdac"}]}],"database_specific":{"source":"https://storage.googleapis.com/osv-test-cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2023-52854.json"}},{"package":{"name":"Kernel","ecosystem":"Linux"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"5.6.0"},{"fixed":"5.10.201"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"5.11.0"},{"fixed":"5.15.139"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"5.16.0"},{"fixed":"6.1.63"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"6.2.0"},{"fixed":"6.5.12"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"6.6.0"},{"fixed":"6.6.2"}]}],"database_specific":{"source":"https://storage.googleapis.com/osv-test-cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2023-52854.json"}}],"schema_version":"1.7.5"}