🛡️ CVE-2023-52981 on Ubuntu — linux
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/i915: Fix request ref counting during error capture & debugfs dump When GuC support was added to error capture, the reference counting around the request object was broken. Fix it up. The context based search manages the spinlocking around the search internally. So it needs to grab the reference count internally as well. The execlist only request based search relies on external locking, so it needs an external reference count but within the spinlock not outside it. The only other caller of the context based search is the code for dumping engine state to debugfs. That code wasn't previously getting an explicit reference at all as it does everything while holding the execlist specific spinlock. So, that needs updaing as well as that spinlock doesn't help when using GuC submission. Rather than trying to conditionally get/put depending on submission model, just change it to always do the get/put. v2: Explicitly document adding an extra blank line in some dense code (Andy Shevchenko). Fix multiple potential null pointer derefs in case of no request found (some spotted by Tvrtko, but there was more!). Also fix a leaked request in case of !started and another in __guc_reset_context now that intel_context_find_active_request is actually reference counting the returned request. v3: Add a _get suffix to intel_context_find_active_request now that it grabs a reference (Daniele). v4: Split the intel_guc_find_hung_context change to a separate patch and rename intel_context_find_active_request_get to intel_context_get_active_request (Tvrtko). v5: s/locking/reference counting/ in commit message (Tvrtko) (cherry picked from commit 3700e353781e27f1bc7222f51f2cc36cbeb9b4ec)
Distribution advisory
This page covers CVE-2023-52981 as tracked by Ubuntu, for the package linux. No fixed version has been recorded for this distribution yet.
How this vulnerability can be exploited
This issue can be reached with local access to the system, attack complexity is low, an attacker needs low-level privileges on the target. No user interaction is required. The scope is unchanged, so the impact stays within the vulnerable component. Rated impact: confidentiality high, integrity high, availability high.
CVSS metrics in full
The score comes from this vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Attack vector: Local — a local account, shell or session on the host is needed.
- Attack complexity: Low — the attack works reliably, with no preparation.
- Privileges required: Low — an ordinary user account is enough.
- User interaction: None — nobody has to be tricked into anything.
- Scope: Unchanged — the damage stays inside the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality impact: High — total loss, or loss the attacker controls.
- Integrity impact: High — total loss, or loss the attacker controls.
- Availability impact: High — total loss, or loss the attacker controls.
Affected software
UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52981 is recorded against 104 packages.
- linux
- linux-allwinner-5.19
- linux-aws
- linux-aws-5.0
- linux-aws-5.11
- linux-aws-5.13
- linux-aws-5.15
- linux-aws-5.19
- linux-aws-5.3
- linux-aws-5.8
- linux-aws-6.2
- linux-aws-6.5
- linux-aws-fips
- linux-azure
- linux-azure-5.11
- linux-azure-5.13
- linux-azure-5.15
- linux-azure-5.19
- linux-azure-5.3
- linux-azure-5.8
- linux-azure-6.2
- linux-azure-6.5
- linux-azure-edge
- linux-azure-fde
Show the remaining 80 packages
- linux-azure-fde-5.19
- linux-azure-fde-6.2
- linux-azure-fips
- linux-bluefield
- linux-fips
- linux-gcp
- linux-gcp-5.11
- linux-gcp-5.13
- linux-gcp-5.15
- linux-gcp-5.19
- linux-gcp-5.3
- linux-gcp-5.8
- linux-gcp-6.2
- linux-gcp-6.5
- linux-gcp-fips
- linux-gke
- linux-gke-4.15
- linux-gke-5.15
- linux-gke-5.4
- linux-gkeop
- linux-gkeop-5.15
- linux-gkeop-5.4
- linux-hwe
- linux-hwe-5.11
- linux-hwe-5.13
- linux-hwe-5.15
- linux-hwe-5.19
- linux-hwe-5.8
- linux-hwe-6.2
- linux-hwe-6.5
- linux-hwe-edge
- linux-ibm
- linux-ibm-5.15
- linux-intel-5.13
- linux-intel-iot-realtime
- linux-intel-iotg
- linux-intel-iotg-5.15
- linux-kvm
- linux-lowlatency
- linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15
- linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19
- linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2
- linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5
- linux-nvidia
- linux-nvidia-6.2
- linux-nvidia-6.5
- linux-nvidia-tegra
- linux-nvidia-tegra-5.15
- linux-nvidia-tegra-igx
- linux-oem
- linux-oem-5.10
- linux-oem-5.13
- linux-oem-5.14
- linux-oem-5.17
- linux-oem-5.6
- linux-oem-6.0
- linux-oem-6.1
- linux-oem-6.5
- linux-oracle
- linux-oracle-5.0
- linux-oracle-5.11
- linux-oracle-5.13
- linux-oracle-5.15
- linux-oracle-5.3
- linux-oracle-5.8
- linux-oracle-6.5
- linux-raspi
- linux-raspi-realtime
- linux-raspi2
- linux-realtime
- linux-riscv
- linux-riscv-5.11
- linux-riscv-5.15
- linux-riscv-5.19
- linux-riscv-5.8
- linux-riscv-6.5
- linux-starfive-5.19
- linux-starfive-6.2
- linux-starfive-6.5
- linux-xilinx-zynqmp
Timeline and source
Published on 27 March 2025 and last revised on 18 August 2026. No public exploit is currently recorded for this entry. Record sourced from OSV.
References
ubuntu.com (Report)
www.cve.org (Report)
git.kernel.org (Report)
git.kernel.org (Report)
git.kernel.org (Report)
Other advisories for this package
linux has other advisories on record. If you are patching this one, these are worth checking on the same host:
- DEBIAN-CVE-2022-4994 (published 30 Jul 2026)
- CVE-2026-35233 (4.4 Medium, published 1 May 2026)
- CVE-2026-21996 (3.3 Low, published 1 May 2026)
- CVE-2026-21991 (5.5 Medium, published 16 Mar 2026)
- CGA-mcwh-q4vm-9f29 (published 29 Jan 2026)
- CGA-w6xv-3fg4-grm5 (published 29 Jan 2026)
- CGA-3vcx-q795-mc44 (published 7 Jan 2026)
- CGA-chv5-f6xr-gw4q (published 7 Jan 2026)
CVE-2023-52981 on other distributions
Each distribution ships its own build and its own fixed version. Pick the one you run:
Details
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected Packages
| Software | From version | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| linux | — | — |
| linux-allwinner-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-aws | — | — |
| linux-aws-5.0 | — | — |
| linux-aws-5.11 | — | — |
| linux-aws-5.13 | — | — |
| linux-aws-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-aws-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-aws-5.3 | — | — |
| linux-aws-5.8 | — | — |
| linux-aws-6.2 | — | — |
| linux-aws-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-aws-fips | — | — |
| linux-azure | — | — |
| linux-azure-5.11 | — | — |
| linux-azure-5.13 | — | — |
| linux-azure-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-azure-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-azure-5.3 | — | — |
| linux-azure-5.8 | — | — |
| linux-azure-6.2 | — | — |
| linux-azure-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-azure-edge | — | — |
| linux-azure-fde | — | — |
| linux-azure-fde-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-azure-fde-6.2 | — | — |
| linux-azure-fips | — | — |
| linux-bluefield | — | — |
| linux-fips | — | — |
| linux-gcp | — | — |
| linux-gcp-5.11 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-5.13 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-5.3 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-5.8 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-6.2 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-fips | — | — |
| linux-gke | — | — |
| linux-gke-4.15 | — | — |
| linux-gke-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-gke-5.4 | — | — |
| linux-gkeop | — | — |
| linux-gkeop-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-gkeop-5.4 | — | — |
| linux-hwe | — | — |
| linux-hwe-5.11 | — | — |
| linux-hwe-5.13 | — | — |
| linux-hwe-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-hwe-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-hwe-5.8 | — | — |
| linux-hwe-6.2 | — | — |
| linux-hwe-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-hwe-edge | — | — |
| linux-ibm | — | — |
| linux-ibm-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-intel-5.13 | — | — |
| linux-intel-iot-realtime | — | — |
| linux-intel-iotg | — | — |
| linux-intel-iotg-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-kvm | — | — |
| linux-lowlatency | — | — |
| linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2 | — | — |
| linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-nvidia | — | — |
| linux-nvidia-6.2 | — | — |
| linux-nvidia-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-nvidia-tegra | — | — |
| linux-nvidia-tegra-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-nvidia-tegra-igx | — | — |
| linux-oem | — | — |
| linux-oem-5.10 | — | — |
| linux-oem-5.13 | — | — |
| linux-oem-5.14 | — | — |
| linux-oem-5.17 | — | — |
| linux-oem-5.6 | — | — |
| linux-oem-6.0 | — | — |
| linux-oem-6.1 | — | — |
| linux-oem-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-oracle | — | — |
| linux-oracle-5.0 | — | — |
| linux-oracle-5.11 | — | — |
| linux-oracle-5.13 | — | — |
| linux-oracle-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-oracle-5.3 | — | — |
| linux-oracle-5.8 | — | — |
| linux-oracle-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-raspi | — | — |
| linux-raspi-realtime | — | — |
| linux-raspi2 | — | — |
| linux-realtime | — | — |
| linux-riscv | — | — |
| linux-riscv-5.11 | — | — |
| linux-riscv-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-riscv-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-riscv-5.8 | — | — |
| linux-riscv-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-starfive-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-starfive-6.2 | — | — |
| linux-starfive-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-xilinx-zynqmp | — | — |
References
Similar Threats
- Unknown CGA-23jx-hhcx-m389
- Unknown CGA-2qp7-6757-fmgc
- Unknown CGA-2rj5-jc55-r267
- Unknown CGA-3m96-cwq8-6xmx
- Unknown CGA-3qj9-973w-fh9g
Site Security Check
Is linux part of your stack?
UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52981 is rated CVSS 7.8 High. BotEraser scans your installation against known CVE records and tells you whether this vulnerability applies to the versions you actually run.
Scan My Site Free →No credit card required · Results in minutes
ⓘ Data Notice: The information presented above has been compiled from publicly available internet sources. Boteraser aggregates this data solely for informational purposes and does not independently classify, evaluate, or endorse any findings about the vulnerabilities listed. The accuracy and completeness of this information is the sole responsibility of the original publishers. Boteraser and its operators accept no liability for any decisions made based on this data.
