CVE-2023-53261

Service interruption via unreleased CoreSight ACPI buffers

Published Sep 15, 2025 · Updated Sep 15, 2025

Memory leak in Linux kernel 5.3 through 6.5.2 allows local users to interrupt service through CoreSight ACPI graph parsing. acpi_get_dsd_graph returns without releasing buf.pointer because later parsing still uses the allocation, leaving each ACPI buffer stranded. Reachability requires local access and a CoreSight ACPI graph; repeated allocations consume kernel memory without affecting confidentiality or integrity.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.13%
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 Linux kernel 5.3 through 6.5.2 allows local users to interrupt service through CoreSight ACPI graph parsing. acpi_get_dsd_graph returns without releasing buf.pointer because later parsing still uses the allocation, leaving each ACPI buffer stranded. Reachability requires local access and a CoreSight ACPI graph; repeated allocations consume kernel memory without affecting confidentiality or integrity.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53261
Published
Sep 15, 2025
Updated
Sep 15, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-401
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=5.3
  2. Affected versionversion=76ffa5ab5b79c250b9744b7f8bdd835db426a1ae <1a9e02673e2550f5612099e64e8761f0c8fc0f50
  3. Affected versionversion=76ffa5ab5b79c250b9744b7f8bdd835db426a1ae <d1b60e7c9fee34eaedf1fc4e0471f75b33f83a4a

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.3; version=76ffa5ab5b79c250b9744b7f8bdd835db426a1ae <1a9e02673e2550f5612099e64e8761f0c8fc0f50; version=76ffa5ab5b79c250b9744b7f8bdd835db426a1ae <d1b60e7c9fee34eaedf1fc4e0471f75b33f83a4a

Published CVSS scores

5.5CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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

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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