CVE-2023-52931

Local privilege escalation via premature VM publication

Published Mar 27, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026

Use-after-free in Linux kernel 5.16 through 6.1.10 allows local users to escalate privileges through drm/i915 ioctls. I915_GEM_CONTEXT_GETPARAM publishes a VM in vm_xa before acquiring the extra reference, while a concurrent I915_GEM_VM_DESTROY can free it. Access to a local i915 render or primary node is required; successful reuse can disclose or modify kernel memory or cause a kernel panic.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.24%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in Linux kernel 5.16 through 6.1.10 allows local users to escalate privileges through drm/i915 ioctls. I915_GEM_CONTEXT_GETPARAM publishes a VM in vm_xa before acquiring the extra reference, while a concurrent I915_GEM_VM_DESTROY can free it. Access to a local i915 render or primary node is required; successful reuse can disclose or modify kernel memory or cause a kernel panic.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-52931
Published
Mar 27, 2025
Updated
Aug 5, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-367, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 27, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 5, 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=5.16
  2. Affected versionversion=9ec8795e7d91bc650db03dc6f5315667555dae11 <41d419382ec7e257e54b7b6ff0d3623aafb1316d
  3. Affected versionversion=9ec8795e7d91bc650db03dc6f5315667555dae11 <764accc2c1b8fd1507be2e7f436c94cdce887a00

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.16; version=9ec8795e7d91bc650db03dc6f5315667555dae11 <41d419382ec7e257e54b7b6ff0d3623aafb1316d; version=9ec8795e7d91bc650db03dc6f5315667555dae11 <764accc2c1b8fd1507be2e7f436c94cdce887a00

Published CVSS scores

7.8Linux kernel CVE teamCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
5.5Red HatCVSS: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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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-367Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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