SecOps SignalSecurity Intelligence Workspace
Collection Running31 / 46 Sources HealthyPublic Intel Only
Vulnerabilities/CVE-2023-52981Public Intelligence Dossier
Source: linux · Limited verification•Last verified: •Collection Running
CVE-2023-52981Unknown / EvaluatingHIGH (raw)CVSS 7.8NVD-CWE-Other

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/i915: Fix request ref counting during error capture & debugfs dump When GuC support was added to error capture, the reference counting around the request object was broken

Published: 27 Mar 2025•Last updated: 16 Oct 2026, 03:47 AM IST•Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Dossier completeness: source-provided sections 2 / 3 · rule guidance available. Missing source facts count as incomplete.
Official source
CISA KEV catalog
Unknown
KEV status was not determined.
CVSS score
7.8HIGH (raw)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Metric source416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
EPSS probability
0.2%0.002
Percentile14th
Weakness type
NVD-CWE-Other
No further CWE recorded
Remediation
Patch status unknown
No fixed version or KB recorded

Why It Matters

Analysis dossier

Why It Matters

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/i915: Fix request ref counting during error capture & debugfs dump When GuC support was added to error capture, the reference counting around the request object was broken. Fix it up. The context based search manages the spinlocking around the search internally. So it needs to grab the reference count internally as well. The execlist only request based search relies on external locking, so it needs an external reference count but within the spinlock not outside it. The only other caller of the context based search is the code for dumping engine state to debugfs. That code wasn't previously getting an explicit reference at all as it does everything while holding the execlist specific spinlock. So, that needs updaing as well as that spinlock doesn't help when using GuC submission. Rather than trying to conditionally get/put depending on submission model, just change it to always do the get/put. v2: Explicitly document adding an extra blank line in some dense code (Andy Shevchenko). Fix multiple potential null pointer derefs in case of no request found (some spotted by Tvrtko, but there was more!). Also fix a leaked request in case of !started and another in __guc_reset_context now that intel_context_find_active_request is actually reference counting the returned request. v3: Add a _get suffix to intel_context_find_active_request now that it grabs a reference (Daniele). v4: Split the intel_guc_find_hung_context change to a separate patch and rename intel_context_find_active_request_get to intel_context_get_active_request (Tvrtko). v5: s/locking/reference counting/ in commit message (Tvrtko) (cherry picked from commit 3700e353781e27f1bc7222f51f2cc36cbeb9b4ec)

SOC priority

High

Actively exploited

Unknown

Publicly disclosed

Unknown

Risk basis: SOC ecosystem technology relevance; HIGH severity; No confirmed exploitation signal in current enrichment

Affected Products & Remediation

1 source-backed product
Affected products and versions (source)
  • linux linux kernel · >= 5.15 < 6.1.11; 6.2 · NVD CPE · Source
Recorded patch / KBNot provided by source

Vendor or catalog guidance (source)

Not provided by source

Known exploitation (source facts)

Only what a source states. Unknown means no source has said either way; it is not "not exploited".

CISA KEV
Unknown
Exploited (source statement)
Unknown
Publicly disclosed (source)
Unknown

Suggested hunting (rule-based inference)

SecOps Signal recommendation (rule-based inference). These steps are hunting hypotheses from the vulnerability class; they do not state or imply that exploitation occurred here or anywhere.

Matched local-privilege-escalation (CVSS AV:L, CVSS PR:L)

Exposure

  1. Identify hosts reporting this CVE, prioritising shared or multi-user systems.Telemetry: DeviceTvmSoftwareVulnerabilities · A local, low-privilege vector matters most where untrusted users can run code. · Rule local-privilege-escalation

Exploitation evidence

  1. Look for low-privileged processes spawning SYSTEM or root-level child processes on affected hosts.Telemetry: DeviceProcessEvents · Hunting hypothesis from the CVSS vector; privilege transitions are a focused starting point, not evidence of attack. · Rule local-privilege-escalation

Response

  1. Confirm the source-stated update on affected hosts.Telemetry: DeviceTvmSoftwareVulnerabilities · Host inventory can verify remediation. · Rule local-privilege-escalation

CISA KEV Record

CISA KEV status was not determined for this record.

Change History & Source Data

— No recorded material change

CNA / source
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Record status · verification
UPDATED · NVD API
CPE
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*, cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*, cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*, cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*, cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*, cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*, cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*

Linked by the query's stored exact CVE association. Review required tables and validation status before use.

Detection Hunting Query
Target: DeviceTvmSoftwareVulnerabilities•Defender XDR
Detect endpoints exposed to CVE-2023-52981
Purpose: Exposure assessment (Category: Exposure Check)Why linked: Query metadata names CVE-2023-52981
DeviceTvmSoftwareVulnerabilities| where CveId == "CVE-2023-52981"| project DeviceId, DeviceName, OSPlatform, OSVersion, SoftwareVendor, SoftwareName, SoftwareVersion, CveId, VulnerabilitySeverityLevel, RecommendedSecurityUpdate, RecommendedSecurityUpdateId| sort by VulnerabilitySeverityLevel desc
Schema Checked · Not runtime validatedSource: SecOps Signal deterministic template · Limited verificationStatic screening: Passed structure and schema checks; tenant execution is not verified.

Correlated briefings

— No published briefing references this CVE

SecOps Signal surfaces public advisory facts only. A missing value means the source has not published it, not that your environment is unaffected. No tenant inventory is connected.