# CVE-2023-52794: thermal: intel: powerclamp: fix mismatch in get function for max_idle

> A mismatch in the Intel powerclamp thermal driver causes a global out-of-bounds read, potentially leading to a kernel crash or denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 May 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-52794, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52794, GHSA-frc8-7f65-3g5r, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52794

## What is CVE-2023-52794?

CVE-2023-52794 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 May 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:

thermal: intel: powerclamp: fix mismatch in get function for max_idle

KASAN reported this

      [ 444.853098] BUG: KASAN: global-out-of-bounds in param_get_int+0x77/0x90
      [ 444.853111] Read of size 4 at addr ffffffffc16c9220 by task cat/2105
      ...
      [ 444.853442] The buggy address belongs to the variable:
      [ 444.853443] max_idle+0x0/0xffffffffffffcde0 [intel_powerclamp]

There is a mismatch between the param_get_int and the definition of
max_idle.  Replacing param_get_int with param_get_byte resolves this
issue.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52794?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-52794?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-52794 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52794 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-52794 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-52794 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 May 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52794 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52794/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52794/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52794
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52794
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-52794

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52794/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.