CVE-2023-53197

Memory exhaustion via unreleased UHCI debugfs references

Published Sep 15, 2025 · Updated Sep 15, 2025

Memory leak in the Linux kernel UHCI teardown path allows local users to exhaust memory by repeatedly tearing down a USB host controller. The release_uhci function calls debugfs_lookup to locate a controller entry but removes it without releasing the lookup-acquired dentry reference, leaking memory on each teardown. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and repeated UHCI controller teardown, and the resulting impact is limited to availability.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.16%
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 Linux kernel UHCI teardown path allows local users to exhaust memory by repeatedly tearing down a USB host controller. The release_uhci function calls debugfs_lookup to locate a controller entry but removes it without releasing the lookup-acquired dentry reference, leaking memory on each teardown. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and repeated UHCI controller teardown, and the resulting impact is limited to availability.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53197
Published
Sep 15, 2025
Updated
Sep 15, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499.004
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 <0a3f82c79c86278e7f144564b1cb6cc5c3657144
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <9cb88847b8b86f132309030022a23dca895b6f61
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <c6af1dbc99ad37bf67c8703982df4d7f12d256c1
  4. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <e529aeb771aef1402c899b6b405610ef444d5d88

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <0a3f82c79c86278e7f144564b1cb6cc5c3657144; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <9cb88847b8b86f132309030022a23dca895b6f61; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <c6af1dbc99ad37bf67c8703982df4d7f12d256c1; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <e529aeb771aef1402c899b6b405610ef444d5d88

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 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 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
T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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