CVE-2023-52449 mtd: Fix gluebi NULL pointer dereference caused by ftl notifier
A NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel MTD subsystem can cause a denial of service when specific modules are loaded.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2023-52449?
CVE-2023-52449 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 Feb 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mtd: Fix gluebi NULL pointer dereference caused by ftl notifier
If both ftl.ko and gluebi.ko are loaded, the notifier of ftl triggers NULL pointer dereference when trying to access ‘gluebi->desc’ in gluebi_read().
ubi_gluebi_init ubi_register_volume_notifier ubi_enumerate_volumes ubi_notify_all gluebi_notify nb->notifier_call() gluebi_create mtd_device_register mtd_device_parse_register add_mtd_device blktrans_notify_add not->add() ftl_add_mtd tr->add_mtd() scan_header mtd_read mtd_read_oob mtd_read_oob_std gluebi_read mtd->read() gluebi->desc - NULL
Detailed reproduction information available at the Link [1],
In the normal case, obtain gluebi->desc in the gluebi_get_device(), and access gluebi->desc in the gluebi_read(). However, gluebi_get_device() is not executed in advance in the ftl_add_mtd() process, which leads to NULL pointer dereference.
The solution for the gluebi module is to run jffs2 on the UBI volume without considering working with ftl or mtdblock [2]. Therefore, this problem can be avoided by preventing gluebi from creating the mtdblock device after creating mtd partition of the type MTD_UBIVOLUME.
Weakness: CWE-476
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52449?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2023-52449?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2023-52449 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52449 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-52449, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52449, GHSA-268r-8rwm-mqq9, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52449.