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CVE Record

CVE-2023-53225: spi: imx: Don't skip cleanup in remove's error path

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: spi: imx: Don't skip cleanup in remove's error path Returning early in a platform driver's remove callback is wrong. In this case the dma resources are not released in the error path. this is never retried later and so this is a permanent leak. To fix this, only skip hardware disabling if waking the device fails.

MediumCVSS 5.5Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2023-53225 is a Linux kernel resource leak in the spi-imx platform driver's remove path. An early return can leave DMA resources unreleased permanently if device wake fails, potentially degrading availability. It requires local low-privileged access per CVSS; no confidentiality or integrity impact is reported.

Executive priority

Treat this as a moderate availability risk, strongest for Linux systems using the affected SPI driver path. It is not marked as actively exploited, but kernel availability issues can be operationally significant on embedded or appliance-like systems.

Technical view

The fix changes remove callback handling so cleanup is not skipped on error; only hardware disabling is skipped when wake fails. The weakness is CWE-401. CVSS 3.1 is 5.5: local, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, unchanged scope, high availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on Linux kernels in the listed affected ranges when the spi-imx driver is present and used. Generic servers without that driver or hardware path may be unaffected, but kernel build configuration and loaded modules must be checked.

Exploitation context

No provided source says this is actively exploited; KEV is false. The CVSS vector indicates local low-privileged access is needed. The practical impact is denial of service through permanent DMA resource leakage in the driver remove error path.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to the CVE record and kernel stable commits. The issue is a cleanup flaw in remove error handling, not a remotely reachable network vulnerability based on the provided CVSS vector and description.

Mitigation direction

  • Prioritize vendor kernel updates containing the referenced stable commits.
  • Check Linux distribution advisories for package-specific fixed kernel versions.
  • Reduce exposure to local untrusted users on affected systems.
  • Avoid unloading or rebinding affected drivers on sensitive production systems until patched.
  • Monitor kernel logs and availability symptoms on affected embedded or hardware-specific deployments.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions against the affected and fixed ranges in the CVE record.
  • Confirm whether the spi-imx driver is built, loaded, or used on each system.
  • Review distribution kernel changelogs for the referenced stable commit IDs.
  • Validate remediation in staging before broad kernel rollout.
  • Document systems where hardware or configuration makes the driver unreachable.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
8

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-401: Exact CWE lookup

Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2023-53225 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.5 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
1ADP providers
7Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: partial

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
5.5CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.83.6CISA-ADP

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

5.5Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2023-53225Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
cvssV3_1other:ssvc

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxd593574aff0ab846136190b1729c151c736727ec, d593574aff0ab846136190b1729c151c736727ec, d593574aff0ab846136190b1729c151c736727ec, d593574aff0ab846136190b1729c151c736727ec, d593574aff0ab846136190b1729c151c736727ec, d593574aff0ab846136190b1729c151c736727ec, fc58a98f1c98b22d31c53913cca38d5c43807cb4, 28ae79a518421348abfc2a2dffd6a6b6e3699476, b6aaaaed67b170a9841f0f598cd45ccbfe76e15e, f84a8d446a16379df5844bc2bd50f0b7431a4718, 1333c3e996eb799286ee2ef2c01752da45bf926f, cfd96cbd607ab5d63a33cd63673221f4d572ea8c, bac4bf53ca7c65d6c06808aab70c6caa0b9c78b9, 3.16.57, 3.18.94, 4.1.50, 4.4.115, 4.9.80, 4.14.17, 4.15.1unaffected
LinuxLinux4.16, 0, 5.10.180, 5.15.111, 6.1.28, 6.2.15, 6.3.2, 6.4affected
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-401

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-401 · source CWE mapping

Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs