CVE-2023-53649
MEDIUMDescription
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: perf trace: Really free the evsel->priv area In 3cb4d5e00e037c70 ("perf trace: Free syscall tp fields in evsel->priv") it only was freeing if strcmp(evsel->tp_format->system, "syscalls") returned zero, while the corresponding initialization of evsel->priv was being performed if it was _not_ zero, i.e. if the tp system wasn't 'syscalls'. Just stop looking for that and free it if evsel->priv was set, which should be equivalent. Also use the pre-existing evsel_trace__delete() function. This resolves these leaks, detected with: $ make EXTRA_CFLAGS="-fsanitize=address" BUILD_BPF_SKEL=1 CORESIGHT=1 O=/tmp/build/perf-tools-next -C tools/perf install-bin ================================================================= ==481565==ERROR: LeakSanitizer: detected memory leaks Direct leak of 40 byte(s) in 1 object(s) allocated from: #0 0x7f7343cba097 in calloc (/lib64/libasan.so.8+0xba097) #1 0x987966 in zalloc (/home/acme/bin/perf+0x987966) #2 0x52f9b9 in evsel_trace__new /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c:307 #3 0x52f9b9 in evsel__syscall_tp /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c:333 #4 0x52f9b9 in evsel__init_raw_syscall_tp /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c:458 #5 0x52f9b9 in perf_evsel__raw_syscall_newtp /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c:480 #6 0x540e8b in trace__add_syscall_newtp /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c:3212 #7 0x540e8b in trace__run /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c:3891 #8 0x540e8b in cmd_trace /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c:5156 #9 0x5ef262 in run_builtin /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/perf.c:323 #10 0x4196da in handle_internal_command /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/perf.c:377 #11 0x4196da in run_argv /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/perf.c:421 #12 0x4196da in main /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/perf.c:537 #13 0x7f7342c4a50f in __libc_start_call_main (/lib64/libc.so.6+0x2750f) Direct leak of 40 byte(s) in 1 object(s) allocated from: #0 0x7f7343cba097 in calloc (/lib64/libasan.so.8+0xba097) #1 0x987966 in zalloc (/home/acme/bin/perf+0x987966) #2 0x52f9b9 in evsel_trace__new /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c:307 #3 0x52f9b9 in evsel__syscall_tp /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c:333 #4 0x52f9b9 in evsel__init_raw_syscall_tp /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c:458 #5 0x52f9b9 in perf_evsel__raw_syscall_newtp /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c:480 #6 0x540dd1 in trace__add_syscall_newtp /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c:3205 #7 0x540dd1 in trace__run /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c:3891 #8 0x540dd1 in cmd_trace /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c:5156 #9 0x5ef262 in run_builtin /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/perf.c:323 #10 0x4196da in handle_internal_command /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/perf.c:377 #11 0x4196da in run_argv /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/perf.c:421 #12 0x4196da in main /home/acme/git/perf-tools-next/tools/perf/perf.c:537 #13 0x7f7342c4a50f in __libc_start_call_main (/lib64/libc.so.6+0x2750f) SUMMARY: AddressSanitizer: 80 byte(s) leaked in 2 allocation(s). [root@quaco ~]# With this we plug all leaks with "perf trace sleep 1".
How to fix
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 8% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory (Memory Leak)) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2020-13934 | High | 7.5 | 64% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2016-6304 | High | 7.5 | 63% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2019-12265 | Medium | 5.3 | 55% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2001-0136 | Medium | 5.0 | 45% | - | - |
| CVE-2016-4232 | High | 7.5 | 36% | - | - |
| CVE-2001-0543 | Medium | 5.0 | 21% | - | - |
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Start freeThis product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-02-03.