Local privilege escalation via perf event use-after-free
Published May 1, 2023 · Updated Aug 7, 2026
Use-after-free in the Performance Events subsystem in Linux Kernel allows local users to gain elevated privileges through perf events. perf_group_detach adds sibling events back to groups without checking attach_state after remove_on_exec has deleted an event, leaving a dangling list reference. Exploitation requires local access to performance events; Ubuntu disables unprivileged access to that interface by default.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the Performance Events subsystem in Linux Kernel allows local users to gain elevated privileges through perf events. perf_group_detach adds sibling events back to groups without checking attach_state after remove_on_exec has deleted an event, leaving a dangling list reference. Exploitation requires local access to performance events; Ubuntu disables unprivileged access to that interface by default.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-2235
- Published
- May 1, 2023
- Updated
- Aug 7, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 1, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 7, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=5.13 <6.3
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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