Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-52939 is a Linux kernel availability bug. A local user with low privileges could trigger a kernel NULL pointer dereference in memory-cgroup handling, potentially crashing the system. There is no source evidence of active exploitation or remote access. Business urgency is highest for shared Linux servers, multi-user systems, and workloads where downtime has high impact.
Executive priority
Treat as a routine but important availability patch. It does not appear remotely exploitable from the provided evidence, but local users or compromised low-privilege accounts could cause downtime. Prioritize systems where outages affect revenue, operations, or tenant isolation.
Technical view
The flaw is CWE-476 in mem_cgroup_track_foreign_dirty_slowpath(). After hwpoison forcibly uncharges an LRU hwpoisoned page, folio_memcg can be NULL. The fix avoids recording foreign writebacks when folio memcg is NULL. CVSS 3.1 is 5.5: local attack vector, low privileges, no user interaction, high availability impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to Linux systems running affected kernel versions or downstream builds that include the vulnerable code. The provided data names Linux kernel impact and references stable fixes, but exact distribution package exposure must be confirmed through vendor advisories and kernel changelogs.
Exploitation context
The CVSS vector indicates local, low-privilege exploitation with no user interaction and no confidentiality or integrity impact. The expected impact is denial of service through a kernel crash. The CVE is not listed as KEV in the provided data, and no cited source states active exploitation.
Researcher notes
The available record describes the root cause and fix direction but not broad distro-specific version mapping. Avoid assuming exploitability beyond the CVSS local low-privilege denial-of-service model. Review the two stable kernel commits and downstream backports for accurate exposure decisions.
Mitigation direction
- Apply a vendor-supported kernel update containing the referenced stable fixes.
- If using custom kernels, verify the fix commits are included before deployment.
- Prioritize shared, multi-tenant, and high-availability Linux systems.
- Monitor Linux distribution advisories for package-specific affected and fixed versions.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Linux kernel versions across servers and images.
- Map installed kernels to distribution advisories for CVE-2023-52939.
- Check kernel source or changelog for the referenced fix commits.
- Confirm updated systems rebooted into the fixed kernel.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-476: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-52939 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.83.6CISA-ADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b79ba5953f6fdc5559389ad415620bffc24f024bCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ac86f547ca1002aec2ef66b9e64d03f45bbbfbb9CVE reference, Linux
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
NULL Pointer Dereference
NULL Pointer Dereference represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.