CVE-2023-3640 HIGH

CVE-2023-3640: Kernel: x86/mm: a per-cpu entry area leak was identified through the init_cea_offsets function when prefetchnta and prefetcht2 instructions being used for the per-cpu entry area mapping to the user space

Vendor Red Hat
Product Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
Weakness CWE-203
Published July 24, 2023
Last update November 14, 2025

CVSS base score

7.0/10
Attack vector Local
Attack complexity High
Privileges required Low
User interaction None
Confidentiality High
Integrity High

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

What the vulnerability does

01Description

A possible unauthorized memory access flaw was found in the Linux kernel's cpu_entry_area mapping of X86 CPU data to memory, where a user may guess the location of exception stacks or other important data. Based on the previous CVE-2023-0597, the 'Randomize per-cpu entry area' feature was implemented in /arch/x86/mm/cpu_entry_area.c, which works through the init_cea_offsets() function when KASLR is enabled. However, despite this feature, there is still a risk of per-cpu entry area leaks. This issue could allow a local user to gain access to some important data with memory in an expected location and potentially escalate their privileges on the system.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

July 24, 2023 CVE published
November 14, 2025 Record updated