CVE-2023-1079 Use after free in Linux kernel

What is CVE-2023-1079?

CVE-2023-1079 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Mar 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. A use-after-free may be triggered in asus_kbd_backlight_set when plugging/disconnecting in a malicious USB device, which advertises itself as an Asus device. Similarly to the previous known CVE-2023-25012, but in asus devices, the work_struct may be scheduled by the LED controller while the device is disconnecting, triggering a use-after-free on the struct asus_kbd_leds *led structure. A malicious USB device may exploit the issue to cause memory corruption with controlled data.

Weakness: CWE-416

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-1079?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2023-1079?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.

Is CVE-2023-1079 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-1079 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as AZL-25798, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-1079, GHSA-2679-jq7r-8cph, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-1079.