CVE-2023-52988: 
Linux Kernel vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2023-52988 was discovered in the Linux kernel's ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture) subsystem, specifically affecting the HDA/VIA audio driver component. The vulnerability was identified by the Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) using their SVACE tool and was publicly disclosed on March 27, 2025. The issue affects various Linux kernel versions across multiple distributions including Ubuntu and its derivatives (NVD, Ubuntu Security).

The vulnerability stems from a potential array out-of-bounds access in the addsecretdacpath() function within the HDA/VIA audio driver. The issue occurs because sndhdagetconnections() can return a negative error code, which may lead to accessing the 'conn' array at a negative index. This represents a bounds-checking failure that could potentially be exploited (NVD).

While the full impact has not been explicitly detailed in available sources, array out-of-bounds access vulnerabilities typically can lead to memory corruption, system crashes, or potential privilege escalation depending on the specific circumstances of exploitation (NVD).

The vulnerability has been fixed in various Linux distributions. Ubuntu has released patches for multiple versions: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (linux 5.15.0-72.79), Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (linux 5.4.0-149.166), and Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (linux 4.15.0-211.222). Similar fixes have been applied to other kernel variants including linux-aws, linux-azure, and linux-gcp packages (Ubuntu Security).