CVE-2023-53786

Kernel crash via NULL feature-argument comparison

Published Dec 9, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in Linux dm-flakey allows local users to crash affected kernels through a malformed device-mapper table. The parse_features path shifts a missing corrupt_bio_byte direction argument into arg_name and passes the NULL pointer to strcasecmp. Reaching the flaw requires local privileges to create a device-mapper mapping; successful triggering interrupts the host by crashing its kernel.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.23%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in Linux dm-flakey allows local users to crash affected kernels through a malformed device-mapper table. The parse_features path shifts a missing corrupt_bio_byte direction argument into arg_name and passes the NULL pointer to strcasecmp. Reaching the flaw requires local privileges to create a device-mapper mapping; successful triggering interrupts the host by crashing its kernel.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53786
Published
Dec 9, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 9, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 11, 2026Record 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=3.1
  2. Affected versionversion=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <12849ed107c0b2869fb775c81208050899006f07
  3. Affected versionversion=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <337b7af273562b73c46ef77a724604ad139ca762
  4. Affected versionversion=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <8258d84a7917aeece773716518deadb7ad776cb7
  5. Affected versionversion=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <83b4e3d878ea6be9aec1d5a1ab177c766c64d1a0
  6. Affected versionversion=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <98dba02d9a93eec11bffbb93c7c51624290702d2
  7. Affected versionversion=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <a1e3fffe02e05c05357af91364ac0fc1ed425b5b
  8. Affected versionversion=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <cb874a190f3f7c3c3fa5b979bee7a3b8cc3a19cc
  9. Affected versionversion=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <f76fcb9d43ec014ac4a1bb983768696d5b032df9
  10. Affected versionversion=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <f95cb1526669ccdf7eb12eefd57a893953e3595f

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=3.1; version=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <12849ed107c0b2869fb775c81208050899006f07; version=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <337b7af273562b73c46ef77a724604ad139ca762; version=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <8258d84a7917aeece773716518deadb7ad776cb7; version=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <83b4e3d878ea6be9aec1d5a1ab177c766c64d1a0; version=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <98dba02d9a93eec11bffbb93c7c51624290702d2; version=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <a1e3fffe02e05c05357af91364ac0fc1ed425b5b; version=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <cb874a190f3f7c3c3fa5b979bee7a3b8cc3a19cc; version=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <f76fcb9d43ec014ac4a1bb983768696d5b032df9; version=a3998799fb4df0b0af8271a7d50c4269032397aa <f95cb1526669ccdf7eb12eefd57a893953e3595f

Published CVSS scores

5.5SUSECVSS: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

T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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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