# CVE-2023-52879: tracing: Have trace_event_file have ref counters

> A use-after-free in the Linux kernel tracing subsystem allows local attackers to crash the system by manipulating kprobe event file descriptors.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-52879, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52879, GHSA-8j5h-5p5c-hg7m, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2023-52879, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2023-52879, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52879

## What is CVE-2023-52879?

CVE-2023-52879 is a high-severity use after free 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:

tracing: Have trace_event_file have ref counters

The following can crash the kernel:

 # cd /sys/kernel/tracing
 # echo 'p:sched schedule' > kprobe_events
 # exec 5>>events/kprobes/sched/enable
 # > kprobe_events
 # exec 5>&-

The above commands:

 1. Change directory to the tracefs directory
 2. Create a kprobe event (doesn't matter what one)
 3. Open bash file descriptor 5 on the enable file of the kprobe event
 4. Delete the kprobe event (removes the files too)
 5. Close the bash file descriptor 5

The above causes a crash!

 BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000028
 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode
 #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page
 PGD 0 P4D 0
 Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP PTI
 CPU: 6 PID: 877 Comm: bash Not tainted 6.5.0-rc4-test-00008-g2c6b6b1029d4-dirty #186
 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.2-debian-1.16.2-1 04/01/2014
 RIP: 0010:tracing_release_file_tr+0xc/0x50

What happens here is that the kprobe event creates a trace_event_file
"file" descriptor that represents the file in tracefs to the event. It
maintains state of the event (is it enabled for the given instance?).
Opening the "enable" file gets a reference to the event "file" descriptor
via the open file descriptor. When the kprobe event is deleted, the file is
also deleted from the tracefs system which also frees the event "file"
descriptor.

But as the tracefs file is still opened by user space, it will not be
totally removed until the final dput() is called on it. But this is not
true with the event "file" descriptor that is already freed. If the user
does a write to or simply closes the file descriptor it will reference the
event "file" descriptor that was just freed, causing a use-after-free bug.

To solve this, add a ref count to the event "file" descriptor as well as a
new flag called "FREED". The "file" will not be freed until the last
reference is released. But the FREE flag will be set when the event is
removed to prevent any more modifications to that event from happening,
even if there's still a reference to the event "file" descriptor.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52879?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-52879?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-52879 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52879 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-2023-52879 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-52879 is a high-severity use after free 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-2023-52879 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-2023-52879/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52879/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52879
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52879
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-52879

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52879/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.