CVE-2023-52932 – This CVE describes a denial-of-service vulnerab... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-52932?

CVE-2023-52932 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). This CVE describes a denial-of-service vulnerability in the Linux kernel's swap file management. Under heavy memory pressure, the get_swap_pages() function could enter a long loop without yielding CPU time, causing system softlockups that make the system unresponsive. This affects Linux systems using swap space or zram devices under memory pressure conditions.

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes a denial-of-service vulnerability in the Linux kernel's swap file management. Under heavy memory pressure, the get_swap_pages() function could enter a long loop without yielding CPU time, causing system softlockups that make the system unresponsive. This affects Linux systems using swap space or zram devices under memory pressure conditions.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel

Versions: Specific affected versions not specified in CVE description; check kernel commit history for exact ranges

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires swap space or zram devices configured and system under memory pressure. More severe on systems with many swap devices/zram instances.

📦 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...

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 →

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 →

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

Complete system lockup requiring hard reboot, potentially causing data loss and extended service downtime.

🟠

Likely Case

System becomes unresponsive under heavy memory pressure, requiring manual intervention to restore functionality.

🟢

If Mitigated

System experiences temporary performance degradation but remains operational due to proper resource limits and monitoring.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This vulnerability requires local access or ability to trigger memory pressure conditions.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal users or processes could trigger the condition through memory-intensive operations.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: NO

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires ability to trigger memory pressure conditions, typically through local access or memory-intensive processes.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel versions containing commits: 29f0349c5c76b627fe06b87d4b13fa03a6ce8e64, 30187be29052bba9203b0ae2bdd815e0bc2faaab, 387217b97e99699c34e6d95ce2b91b327fcd853e, 49178d4d61e78aed8c837dfeea8a450700f196e2, 5dbe1ebd56470d03b78fc31491a9e4d433106ef2

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/29f0349c5c76b627fe06b87d4b13fa03a6ce8e64

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 kernel version matches patched release.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Reduce swap usage

linux

Limit memory pressure by reducing swap usage through system configuration

sysctl -w vm.swappiness=10
echo 10 > /proc/sys/vm/swappiness

Limit zram devices

linux

Reduce number of zram devices or disable them if not needed

swapoff /dev/zram*
rmmod zram

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement memory usage monitoring and alerts to detect high memory pressure conditions
Configure resource limits (cgroups/ulimits) to prevent processes from consuming excessive memory

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check kernel version and compare with patched versions from kernel git commits

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version includes the fix commits and test under memory pressure conditions

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel softlockup messages in /var/log/kern.log or dmesg
High swap usage patterns
OOM killer activity

Network Indicators:

None - this is a local system issue

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("softlockup" OR "BUG: soft lockup")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-52932

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-667

EPSS Score: 0.02% exploit probability (4.7th percentile)

Published: March 27, 2025

Last Updated: October 1, 2025

🔗 References

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