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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-53181

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.42 / 6.4.7 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dma-buf/dma-resv: Stop leaking on krealloc() failure Currently dma_resv_get_fences() will leak the previously allocated array if the fence iteration got restarted and the krealloc_array() fails. Free the old array by hand, and make sure we still clear the returned *fences so the caller won't end up accessing freed memory. Some (but not all) of the callers of dma_resv_get_fences() seem to still trawl through the array even when dma_resv_get_fences() failed. And let's zero out *num_fences as well for good measure.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 5.16, < 6.1.42>= 6.2, < 6.4.7= 6.5

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.1.42 / 6.4.7 or later
Fixed in 6.1.426.4.7
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 6.1.42+ / 6.4.7+ / 6.6+ (whichever is applicable to your distribution's kernel release cycle)

  1. 1. Check current kernel version with 'uname -r'
  2. 2. Determine if running kernel is affected: versions >= 5.16 and < 6.1.42, OR >= 6.2 and < 6.4.7, OR exactly 6.5
  3. 3. If affected, plan kernel upgrade during scheduled maintenance window
  4. 4. Upgrade Linux kernel to one of: 6.1.42 or later in the 6.1.x stable series, 6.4.7 or later in the 6.4.x stable series, or 6.6 or later
  5. 5. Update boot loader configuration if necessary (e.g., update GRUB)
  6. 6. Reboot system to load the new kernel
  7. 7. Verify new kernel version is running with 'uname -r' and confirm it is >= 6.1.42 or >= 6.4.7 or >= 6.6
Caveat Kernel upgrades may introduce regressions; test in staging environment before production deployment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-53181 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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