CVE-2023-52662 – This CVE describes a memory leak vulnerability ... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-52662?

CVE-2023-52662 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). This CVE describes a memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's VMware graphics driver (vmwgfx). When the driver fails to allocate memory for graphics resources, it doesn't properly clean up previously allocated memory, leading to gradual memory exhaustion. This affects Linux systems using VMware graphics virtualization.

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes a memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's VMware graphics driver (vmwgfx). When the driver fails to allocate memory for graphics resources, it doesn't properly clean up previously allocated memory, leading to gradual memory exhaustion. This affects Linux systems using VMware graphics virtualization.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel with vmwgfx driver enabled

Versions: Linux kernel versions containing the vulnerable code (specific versions not specified in CVE, but patches available in stable branches)

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ✅ No

Notes: Only vulnerable when VMware graphics driver (vmwgfx) is loaded and in use, typically in VMware virtual machines with 3D acceleration enabled.

📦 What is this software?

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Sustained exploitation could lead to kernel memory exhaustion, causing system instability, crashes, or denial of service on affected systems.

🟠

Likely Case

Gradual memory consumption over time leading to performance degradation and potential system instability requiring reboots.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper memory monitoring and regular system maintenance; memory leaks would be detected before causing significant issues.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This vulnerability requires local access to the affected system and specific graphics operations.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal users with access to VMware virtual machines using 3D acceleration could potentially trigger this vulnerability.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: NO

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires local access and ability to trigger specific graphics operations through the vmwgfx driver.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Patches available in Linux kernel stable branches (commits referenced in CVE)

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/03b1072616a8f7d6e8594f643b416a9467c83fbf

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to patched version from your distribution's repositories. 2. Reboot system to load new kernel. 3. Verify vmwgfx driver is updated.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable vmwgfx driver

linux

Prevent loading of vulnerable VMware graphics driver

echo 'blacklist vmwgfx' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-vmwgfx.conf
update-initramfs -u
reboot

Disable 3D acceleration in VMware

all

Turn off 3D acceleration in VMware virtual machine settings to avoid using vulnerable driver

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Monitor system memory usage closely for unusual consumption patterns
Implement regular system reboots to clear accumulated memory leaks

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if vmwgfx module is loaded: lsmod | grep vmwgfx. If loaded and kernel version is unpatched, system is vulnerable.

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Check kernel version after update matches patched version and verify vmwgfx module loads without errors in dmesg.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel oom-killer messages
Memory allocation failures in dmesg
vmwgfx driver error messages

Network Indicators:

None - this is a local memory management issue

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("oom-killer" OR "vmwgfx" OR "memory allocation failure")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-52662

CVSS v3 Score: 5.5 (MEDIUM)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CWE: CWE-401

Published: May 17, 2024

Last Updated: January 14, 2025

🔗 References

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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