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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-53201

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.10.188 / 5.15.121 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: RDMA/bnxt_re: wraparound mbox producer index Driver is not handling the wraparound of the mbox producer index correctly. Currently the wraparound happens once u32 max is reached. Bit 31 of the producer index register is special and should be set only once for the first command. Because the producer index overflow setting bit31 after a long time, FW goes to initialization sequence and this causes FW hang. Fix is to wraparound the mbox producer index once it reaches u16 max.

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:>= 4.11, < 5.10.188>= 5.11, < 5.15.121>= 5.16, < 6.1.39>= 6.2, < 6.3.13>= 6.4, < 6.4.4

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 5.10.188 / 5.15.121 / 6.1.39 or later
Fixed in 5.10.1885.15.1216.1.39
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 5.10.188+, 5.15.121+, 6.1.39+, or 6.3.13+ (or a later stable release)

  1. Identify the current kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. Determine which stable kernel branch is applicable (5.10.x, 5.15.x, 6.1.x, or 6.3.x) based on your distribution's upgrade path
  3. Schedule a maintenance window for the kernel upgrade
  4. Back up critical data and configurations
  5. Upgrade the kernel to version 5.10.188 or higher, 5.15.121 or higher, 6.1.39 or higher, or 6.3.13 or higher
  6. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
  7. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version with 'uname -r' and confirming the RDMA/bnxt_re module loads correctly
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require matching distribution packages; ensure compatible drivers and hardware support exist in the target version

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-2023-53201 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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