CVE-2023-54146
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
Double-Free Vulnerability in Linux Kernel x86/kexec Component

Publication date: 2025-12-24

Last updated on: 2025-12-24

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/kexec: Fix double-free of elf header buffer After b3e34a47f989 ("x86/kexec: fix memory leak of elf header buffer"), freeing image->elf_headers in the error path of crash_load_segments() is not needed because kimage_file_post_load_cleanup() will take care of that later. And not clearing it could result in a double-free. Drop the superfluous vfree() call at the error path of crash_load_segments().
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Meta Information
Published
2025-12-24
Last Modified
2025-12-24
Generated
2026-06-16
AI Q&A
2025-12-24
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-15
NVD
CVE-2023-54146
EUVD
EUVD-2023-60299
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *
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Exploitability
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN
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Executive Summary

This vulnerability is a double-free issue in the Linux kernel's x86 kexec code. Specifically, the elf header buffer was being freed twice due to an unnecessary free call in the error path of the crash_load_segments() function. This could lead to memory corruption or crashes. The fix involved removing the redundant free call because the elf_headers buffer is already freed later by kimage_file_post_load_cleanup().

Impact Analysis

The double-free vulnerability can cause memory corruption, which may lead to system instability, crashes, or potentially allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges if exploited.

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