Linux Kernel up to 6.1.9 arch/s390/kernel/setup.c absolute_pointer out-of-bounds

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.9. The affected element is the function absolute_pointer of the file arch/s390/kernel/setup.c. The manipulation leads to out-of-bounds. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2023-52990. There is no exploit available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.9. It has been rated as problematic. This issue affects the function absolute_pointer of the file arch/s390/kernel/setup.c. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a out-of-bounds vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-125. The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer. Impacted is confidentiality. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: s390: workaround invalid gcc-11 out of bounds read warning GCC 11.1.0 and 11.2.0 generate a wrong warning when compiling the kernel e.g. with allmodconfig: arch/s390/kernel/setup.c: In function ‘setup_lowcore_dat_on’: ./include/linux/fortify-string.h:57:33: error: ‘__builtin_memcpy’ reading 128 bytes from a region of size 0 [-Werror=stringop-overread] ... arch/s390/kernel/setup.c:526:9: note: in expansion of macro ‘memcpy’ 526 | memcpy(abs_lc->cregs_save_area, S390_lowcore.cregs_save_area, | ^~~~~~ This could be addressed by using absolute_pointer() with the S390_lowcore macro, but this is not a good idea since this generates worse code for performance critical paths. Therefore simply use a for loop to copy the array in question and get rid of the warning.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2023-52990 since 03/27/2025. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available.

Upgrading to version 6.1.10 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 1fc24f9da259b675c3cc74ad5aa92dac286543b3/41e1992665a2701fa025a8b76970c43b4148446f is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-0649). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Affected

• Google Container-Optimized OS
• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• Dell Avamar
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• SolarWinds Security Event Manager
• Dell NetWorker
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.1.0
• 6.1.1
• 6.1.2
• 6.1.3
• 6.1.4
• 6.1.5
• 6.1.6
• 6.1.7
• 6.1.8
• 6.1.9

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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