CVE-2023-52616 crypto: lib/mpi - Fix unexpected pointer access in mpi_ec_init

High 7.8 Published Updated

A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's MPI library can cause a system crash during specific cryptographic operations.

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-2023-52616?

CVE-2023-52616 is a high-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 18 Mar 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:

crypto: lib/mpi - Fix unexpected pointer access in mpi_ec_init

When the mpi_ec_ctx structure is initialized, some fields are not cleared, causing a crash when referencing the field when the structure was released. Initially, this issue was ignored because memory for mpi_ec_ctx is allocated with the __GFP_ZERO flag. For example, this error will be triggered when calculating the Za value for SM2 separately.

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52616?

It affects 2 products.

Products include Debian Debian Linux, Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2023-52616?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2023-52616 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52616 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Debian Debian Linux vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-52616, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52616, GHSA-3gvj-5493-c96f, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52616.

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