CVE-2023-53415

Memory exhaustion via unreleased debugfs dentry references

Published Sep 18, 2025 · Updated Sep 18, 2025

Memory leak in the Linux kernel DWC3 USB debugfs lifecycle allows local users to exhaust memory through repeated endpoint teardown. The DWC3 teardown path calls debugfs_lookup() without dput() on the returned dentry, leaking a reference whenever endpoint debugfs entries are removed. Reaching the flaw requires local low-privileged access and an active DWC3 controller with debugfs endpoint creation; sustained triggering can interrupt service as memory is depleted.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.14%
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 DWC3 USB debugfs lifecycle allows local users to exhaust memory through repeated endpoint teardown. The DWC3 teardown path calls debugfs_lookup() without dput() on the returned dentry, leaking a reference whenever endpoint debugfs entries are removed. Reaching the flaw requires local low-privileged access and an active DWC3 controller with debugfs endpoint creation; sustained triggering can interrupt service as memory is depleted.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53415
Published
Sep 18, 2025
Updated
Sep 18, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 18, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 18, 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 <bab872b638130a18fd54d9adfad7db77ed6457be
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <be308d68785b205e483b3a0c61ba3a82da468f2c
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <ce234af49d103d95e3fdca59b25e0d0242f41bb4
  4. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <cf52c320cf74245ce1c12b0bd48f77b87d77fbc9

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <bab872b638130a18fd54d9adfad7db77ed6457be; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <be308d68785b205e483b3a0c61ba3a82da468f2c; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <ce234af49d103d95e3fdca59b25e0d0242f41bb4; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <cf52c320cf74245ce1c12b0bd48f77b87d77fbc9

Published CVSS scores

5.5UbuntuCVSS: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
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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