CVE-2023-38409

kernel: fbcon: out-of-sync arrays in fbcon_mode_deleted due to wrong con2fb_map assignment

Severity Score

5.5

*CVSS v3.1

Exploit Likelihood

*EPSS

Affected Versions

*CPE

Public Exploits

*Multiple Sources

Exploited in Wild

*KEV

Decision

Track

*SSVC

Descriptions

An issue was discovered in set_con2fb_map in drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbcon.c in the Linux kernel before 6.2.12. Because an assignment occurs only for the first vc, the fbcon_registered_fb and fbcon_display arrays can be desynchronized in fbcon_mode_deleted (the con2fb_map points at the old fb_info).

A memory corruption flaw was found in set_con2fb_map in drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbcon.c in the Framebuffer Console in the Linux kernel. This flaw allows a local attacker to crash the system, leading to a denial of service.

The SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP5 Azure kernel was updated to receive various security and bug fixes.

*Credits: N/A

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Authentication

Single

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

Complete

* Common Vulnerability Scoring System

SSVC

Decision:Track

Exploitation

None

Automatable

Tech. Impact

Partial

* Organization's Worst-case Scenario

Timeline

2023-07-17 CVE Reserved
2023-07-17 CVE Published
2024-10-30 CVE Updated
2025-11-21 EPSS Updated
---------- Exploited in Wild
---------- KEV Due Date
---------- First Exploit

CWE

CWE-129: Improper Validation of Array Index
CWE-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')

CAPEC

References (4)

URL	Tag	Source
https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v6.x/ChangeLog-6.2.12	Mailing List

URL	Date	SRC

URL	Date	SRC
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit?id=fffb0b52d5258554c645c966c6cbef7de50b851d	2023-07-27

URL	Date	SRC
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-38409	2024-05-22
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2230042	2024-05-22

Affected Vendors, Products, and Versions

Vendor		Product				Version		Other		Status
Vendor	Product	Version	Other	Status	<-- -->	Vendor	Product	Version	Other	Status
Linux Search vendor "Linux"		Linux Kernel Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"				< 6.2.12 Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " < 6.2.12"		-		Affected