CVE-2023-53173

Local service interruption via debugfs reference leak

Published Sep 15, 2025 · Updated Sep 15, 2025

Memory leak in the pch_uart debugfs cleanup path in affected Linux kernels allows local users to exhaust kernel memory over time. The pch_uart_exit_port() path removed the dentry returned by debugfs_lookup() without releasing the lookup reference, so each cleanup retained kernel memory. The path is reachable only when the PCH UART driver and its debugfs entry are present; repeated cleanup can deplete memory and interrupt the host.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.15%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory leak in the pch_uart debugfs cleanup path in affected Linux kernels allows local users to exhaust kernel memory over time. The pch_uart_exit_port() path removed the dentry returned by debugfs_lookup() without releasing the lookup reference, so each cleanup retained kernel memory. The path is reachable only when the PCH UART driver and its debugfs entry are present; repeated cleanup can deplete memory and interrupt the host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53173
Published
Sep 15, 2025
Updated
Sep 15, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 15, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 15, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <04a189c720aa2b6091442113ce9b9bc93552dff8
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <139769c4bd8273b5e3f85ea474aa37018fe7e436
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <4459d1e7bd0421b3b6fcd745773d8823f71615ef
  4. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <cf042964c2fa72950bbbf25b2cdd732b873e89db

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <04a189c720aa2b6091442113ce9b9bc93552dff8; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <139769c4bd8273b5e3f85ea474aa37018fe7e436; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <4459d1e7bd0421b3b6fcd745773d8823f71615ef; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <cf042964c2fa72950bbbf25b2cdd732b873e89db

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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