CVE-2023-52838

Availability loss via leaked framebuffer mapping

Published May 21, 2024 · Updated May 23, 2026

Resource leak in the imsttfb framebuffer driver in Linux allows local users to exhaust kernel virtual address mappings. If init_imstt fails after imsttfb_probe maps cmap_regs, the error path returns without passing that mapping to iounmap. Reaching the flaw requires the FB_IMSTT driver, an IMS Twin Turbo PCI framebuffer device, and a probe-time initialization failure; the bounded consequence is availability loss.

CVSS severity6.2
Medium
EPSS probability0.25%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Resource leak in the imsttfb framebuffer driver in Linux allows local users to exhaust kernel virtual address mappings. If init_imstt fails after imsttfb_probe maps cmap_regs, the error path returns without passing that mapping to iounmap. Reaching the flaw requires the FB_IMSTT driver, an IMS Twin Turbo PCI framebuffer device, and a probe-time initialization failure; the bounded consequence is availability loss.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-52838
Published
May 21, 2024
Updated
May 23, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-416, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 21, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 23, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=2bf70b88cc358a437db376826f92c8dcf9c23587 <a4dfebec32ec6d420a5506dd56a7834c91be28e4
  2. Affected versionversion=4.14.322 <4.15
  3. Affected versionversion=4.19.291 <4.19.299
  4. Affected versionversion=4c86974fb42281b8041a504d92ab341ad4697325
  5. Affected versionversion=5.10.188 <5.10.201
  6. Affected versionversion=5.15.116 <5.15.139
  7. Affected versionversion=5.4.251 <5.4.261
  8. Affected versionversion=6.1.33 <6.1.63
  9. Affected versionversion=6.3.7 <6.4
  10. Affected versionversion=6.4
  11. Affected versionversion=64c6b84c73f576380fadeec2d30aaeccbc2994c7
  12. Affected versionversion=7f683f286a2196bd4d2da420a3194f5ba0269d8c <382e1931e0c9cd58a5a8519cdc6cd9dc4d82b485
  13. Affected versionversion=815c95d82b79bb32e9aa7c95c6ac7cb1c92612cd <6c66d737b2726ac7784269ddf32a31634f8f269d
  14. Affected versionversion=ad3de274e065790181f112b9c72a2fb4665ee2fd <8e4b510fe91782522b7ca0ca881b663b5d35e513
  15. Affected versionversion=c6c0a9f619584be19726ce7f81c31bc555af401a <7bc7b82fb2191b0d50a80ee4e27030918767dd1d
  16. Affected versionversion=c75f5a55061091030a13fef71b9995b89bc86213 <18d26f9baca7d0d309303e3074a2252b8310884a
  17. Affected versionversion=c75f5a55061091030a13fef71b9995b89bc86213 <aba6ab57a910ad4b940c2024d15f2cdbf5b7f76b
  18. Affected versionversion=c75f5a55061091030a13fef71b9995b89bc86213 <b346a531159d08c564a312a9eaeea691704f3c00

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=2bf70b88cc358a437db376826f92c8dcf9c23587 <a4dfebec32ec6d420a5506dd56a7834c91be28e4; version=4.14.322 <4.15; version=4.19.291 <4.19.299; version=4c86974fb42281b8041a504d92ab341ad4697325; version=5.10.188 <5.10.201; version=5.15.116 <5.15.139; version=5.4.251 <5.4.261; version=6.1.33 <6.1.63; version=6.3.7 <6.4; version=6.4; version=64c6b84c73f576380fadeec2d30aaeccbc2994c7; version=7f683f286a2196bd4d2da420a3194f5ba0269d8c <382e1931e0c9cd58a5a8519cdc6cd9dc4d82b485; version=815c95d82b79bb32e9aa7c95c6ac7cb1c92612cd <6c66d737b2726ac7784269ddf32a31634f8f269d; version=ad3de274e065790181f112b9c72a2fb4665ee2fd <8e4b510fe91782522b7ca0ca881b663b5d35e513; version=c6c0a9f619584be19726ce7f81c31bc555af401a <7bc7b82fb2191b0d50a80ee4e27030918767dd1d; version=c75f5a55061091030a13fef71b9995b89bc86213 <18d26f9baca7d0d309303e3074a2252b8310884a; version=c75f5a55061091030a13fef71b9995b89bc86213 <aba6ab57a910ad4b940c2024d15f2cdbf5b7f76b; version=c75f5a55061091030a13fef71b9995b89bc86213 <b346a531159d08c564a312a9eaeea691704f3c00

Published CVSS scores

6.2CISA ADP VulnrichmentCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-416Use After Free
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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