Local system compromise via i915 request miscounting
Published Mar 27, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Improper request reference counting in Linux kernel 5.15 through 6.1.10 allows local users to compromise the system through i915 error capture. The intel_context_get_active_request path failed to acquire request references inside its internally locked context search, while the debugfs engine-state caller acquired no explicit reference under GuC submission. A local low-privileged user must reach i915 error capture or engine-state dumping on a GuC-enabled Intel GPU; stale or missing references can expose or corrupt kernel state or crash the host.
Summary
What happened
Improper request reference counting in Linux kernel 5.15 through 6.1.10 allows local users to compromise the system through i915 error capture. The intel_context_get_active_request path failed to acquire request references inside its internally locked context search, while the debugfs engine-state caller acquired no explicit reference under GuC submission. A local low-privileged user must reach i915 error capture or engine-state dumping on a GuC-enabled Intel GPU; stale or missing references can expose or corrupt kernel state or crash the host.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-52981
- Published
- Mar 27, 2025
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 27, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 5, 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.
- Affected versionversion=5.15
- Affected versionversion=573ba126aef37c8315e5bb68d2dad515efa96994 <86d8ddc74124c3fdfc139f246ba6da15e45e86e3
- Affected versionversion=573ba126aef37c8315e5bb68d2dad515efa96994 <9467397f417dd7b5d0db91452f0474e79716a527
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
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
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo