CVE-2023-52635

System crash via unsynchronized devfreq monitor transitions

Published Apr 2, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026

Race condition in the Linux devfreq framework from 3.8 allows local users to crash the kernel by rapidly switching device governors. The devfreq_monitor_start and devfreq_monitor_stop paths queue and cancel the same delayed-work timer without shared locking, allowing cancellation to race expiration and corrupt the timer list. Reachability requires local access to repeatedly write a devfreq device's governor sysfs attribute; the demonstrated consequence is a kernel paging fault and system availability loss.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.23%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Race condition in the Linux devfreq framework from 3.8 allows local users to crash the kernel by rapidly switching device governors. The devfreq_monitor_start and devfreq_monitor_stop paths queue and cancel the same delayed-work timer without shared locking, allowing cancellation to race expiration and corrupt the timer list. Reachability requires local access to repeatedly write a devfreq device's governor sysfs attribute; the demonstrated consequence is a kernel paging fault and system availability loss.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-52635
Published
Apr 2, 2024
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-835, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 2, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 11, 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=3.8
  2. Affected versionversion=7e6fdd4bad033fa2d73716377b184fa975b0d985 <099f6a9edbe30b142c1d97fe9a4748601d995675
  3. Affected versionversion=7e6fdd4bad033fa2d73716377b184fa975b0d985 <0aedb319ef3ed39e9e5a7b7726c8264ca627bbd9
  4. Affected versionversion=7e6fdd4bad033fa2d73716377b184fa975b0d985 <31569995fc65007b73a3fff605ec2b3401b435e9
  5. Affected versionversion=7e6fdd4bad033fa2d73716377b184fa975b0d985 <3399cc7013e761fee9d6eec795e9b31ab0cbe475
  6. Affected versionversion=7e6fdd4bad033fa2d73716377b184fa975b0d985 <ae815e2fdc284ab31651d52460698bd89c0fce22
  7. Affected versionversion=7e6fdd4bad033fa2d73716377b184fa975b0d985 <aed5ed595960c6d301dcd4ed31aeaa7a8054c0c6

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=3.8; version=7e6fdd4bad033fa2d73716377b184fa975b0d985 <099f6a9edbe30b142c1d97fe9a4748601d995675; version=7e6fdd4bad033fa2d73716377b184fa975b0d985 <0aedb319ef3ed39e9e5a7b7726c8264ca627bbd9; version=7e6fdd4bad033fa2d73716377b184fa975b0d985 <31569995fc65007b73a3fff605ec2b3401b435e9; version=7e6fdd4bad033fa2d73716377b184fa975b0d985 <3399cc7013e761fee9d6eec795e9b31ab0cbe475; version=7e6fdd4bad033fa2d73716377b184fa975b0d985 <ae815e2fdc284ab31651d52460698bd89c0fce22; version=7e6fdd4bad033fa2d73716377b184fa975b0d985 <aed5ed595960c6d301dcd4ed31aeaa7a8054c0c6

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-835Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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