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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-53557

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.40 / 6.4.5 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: fprobe: Release rethook after the ftrace_ops is unregistered While running bpf selftests it's possible to get following fault: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address \ 0x6b6b6b6b6b6b6b6b: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP DEBUG_PAGEALLOC NOPTI ... Call Trace: <TASK> fprobe_handler+0xc1/0x270 ? __pfx_bpf_testmod_init+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_bpf_testmod_init+0x10/0x10 ? bpf_fentry_test1+0x5/0x10 ? bpf_fentry_test1+0x5/0x10 ? bpf_testmod_init+0x22/0x80 ? do_one_initcall+0x63/0x2e0 ? rcu_is_watching+0xd/0x40 ? kmalloc_trace+0xaf/0xc0 ? do_init_module+0x60/0x250 ? __do_sys_finit_module+0xac/0x120 ? do_syscall_64+0x37/0x90 ? entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x72/0xdc </TASK> In unregister_fprobe function we can't release fp->rethook while it's possible there are some of its users still running on another cpu. Moving rethook_free call after fp->ops is unregistered with unregister_ftrace_function call.

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:>= 5.18, < 6.1.40>= 6.2, < 6.4.5= 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 6.1.40 / 6.4.5 or later
Fixed in 6.1.406.4.5
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

6.1.40+, 6.4.5+, or 6.6+ (depending on branch)

  1. 1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. 2. Determine which kernel branch you are on (e.g., 5.18+, 6.1.x, 6.2.x, 6.5.x)
  3. 3. For systems on 6.1.x branch: upgrade to kernel version 6.1.40 or later
  4. 4. For systems on 6.2.x branch: upgrade to kernel version 6.4.5 or later (note: 6.2.x may be EOL, consider migrating to 6.4.x or 6.6+)
  5. 5. For systems on 6.5.x: upgrade to kernel version 6.6 or later
  6. 6. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  7. 7. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version matches a fixed release
Caveat Kernel upgrades may introduce compatibility issues with custom modules or require rebuilding third-party kernel drivers; test thoroughly in non-production environment first

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-2023-53557 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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