CVE-2023-53276
BaseFortify
Publication date: 2025-09-16
Last updated on: 2025-12-03
Assigner: kernel.org
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | to 4.14.315 (exc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 4.15 (inc) to 4.19.283 (exc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 4.20 (inc) to 5.4.243 (exc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 5.5 (inc) to 5.10.180 (exc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 5.11 (inc) to 5.15.111 (exc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 5.16 (inc) to 6.1.28 (exc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 6.2 (inc) to 6.2.15 (exc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 6.3 (inc) to 6.3.2 (exc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-401 | The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, making the memory unavailable for reallocation and reuse. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability occurs in the Linux kernel's ubifs subsystem when opening a temporary file (tmpfile) on an encrypted directory. The function fscrypt_setup_filename allocates memory for the filename to be stored in the directory entry, but after copying the name to the inode, it fails to free the allocated memory. This results in a memory leak, as the allocated memory remains unreferenced and is detected by the kernel memory leak detector (kmemleak).
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
The impact of this vulnerability is a memory leak in the Linux kernel when tmpfiles are opened on encrypted directories using ubifs. Over time, this could lead to increased memory usage and potentially degrade system performance or stability if many tmpfiles are opened without the leaked memory being freed.
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
This vulnerability can be detected by running kmemleak on the system. The kmemleak tool will report unreferenced memory objects related to the tmpfile operation in ubifs. For example, running a simple program that opens a ubifs tmpfile and monitoring kmemleak reports can help identify the memory leak. Specific commands include enabling kmemleak in the kernel and using 'echo scan > /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak' to trigger a scan, then 'cat /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak' to view reports.
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
Immediate mitigation involves updating the Linux kernel to a version where this vulnerability is fixed, as the issue is resolved by freeing the allocated memory after it has been copied to the inode. Until then, monitoring with kmemleak can help detect the issue, but no other direct mitigation steps are provided.