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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-53428

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.4.16 / 6.5.3 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: powercap: arm_scmi: Remove recursion while parsing zones Powercap zones can be defined as arranged in a hierarchy of trees and when registering a zone with powercap_register_zone(), the kernel powercap subsystem expects this to happen starting from the root zones down to the leaves; on the other side, de-registration by powercap_deregister_zone() must begin from the leaf zones. Available SCMI powercap zones are retrieved dynamically from the platform at probe time and, while any defined hierarchy between the zones is described properly in the zones descriptor, the platform returns the availables zones with no particular well-defined order: as a consequence, the trees possibly composing the hierarchy of zones have to be somehow walked properly to register the retrieved zones from the root. Currently the ARM SCMI Powercap driver walks the zones using a recursive algorithm; this approach, even though correct and tested can lead to kernel stack overflow when processing a returned hierarchy of zones composed by particularly high trees. Avoid possible kernel stack overflow by substituting the recursive approach with an iterative one supported by a dynamically allocated stack-like data structure.

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:>= 6.2, < 6.4.16>= 6.5, < 6.5.3

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 6.4.16 / 6.5.3 or later
Fixed in 6.4.166.5.3
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.4.16 (for 6.2-6.4.x) or 6.5.3 (for 6.5.x), or later stable release

  1. 1. Check current running kernel version: `uname -r`
  2. 2. Determine the appropriate upgrade path based on your current kernel branch (6.4.x or 6.5.x)
  3. 3. For systems running 6.2.x: upgrade to kernel 6.4.16 or later
  4. 4. For systems running 6.4.x: upgrade to kernel 6.4.16 or later
  5. 5. For systems running 6.5.x: upgrade to kernel 6.5.3 or later
  6. 6. For best security posture, upgrade to the latest stable kernel release available for your distribution
  7. 7. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require recompilation of proprietary kernel modules; ensure compatibility of critical drivers/modules with the new kernel 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-2023-53428 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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