Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-53249 is a Linux kernel memory leak in the i.MX8MN clock driver. A local low-privilege user could potentially trigger availability impact. The public data rates it medium severity with high availability impact, but there is no evidence in the provided sources of active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted availability risk, not an internet-scale emergency. Patch during the next embedded Linux maintenance cycle, faster where affected devices allow local user access or run untrusted workloads.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-401 in clk-imx8mn probe error handling. The fix replaces unmanaged mappings/allocation with device-managed APIs so failed probe paths release memory automatically. CVSS 3.1 is 5.5: local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, no confidentiality or integrity impact, high availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on Linux systems using affected kernels with the i.MX8MN clock driver path present, common in embedded or appliance-style builds. Confirm against the exact kernel tree, vendor BSP, and backported stable commits rather than relying only on upstream version labels.
Exploitation context
The bundle marks KEV as false and provides no cited evidence of exploitation in the wild. The CVSS vector indicates local low-privilege access is required. The public sources do not provide exploit details, trigger conditions, or proof-of-concept status.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record and Linux stable commit references. The root cause is resource cleanup on probe failure, fixed by devm-managed mapping and allocation. No source in the bundle establishes remote reachability, active exploitation, or product-specific impact beyond Linux kernel builds carrying the affected driver.
Mitigation direction
- Apply vendor or Linux stable kernel updates containing the referenced clk-imx8mn fix.
- Check device vendor BSP advisories for backported fixes to supported kernels.
- Prioritize systems where local untrusted users or workloads can reach the affected kernel path.
- If patching is delayed, reduce local shell access on affected embedded systems.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Linux kernel versions and vendor BSP revisions on i.MX8MN-based devices.
- Check whether the running kernel includes one of the referenced stable fix commits.
- Confirm kernel configuration and device tree actually use the clk-imx8mn driver.
- Review vendor release notes for CVE-2023-53249 or matching clk-imx8mn memory-leak fix.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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-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.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-53249 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- 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
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.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe 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.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.83.6CISA-ADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/294321349bd3b0680847fc2bbe66b9ab3e522feaCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/50b5ddde8fad5f0ffd239029d0956af633a0f9b1CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9ba3693b0350b154fdd7830559bbc7b04c067096CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9428cf0fbf4be9a24f3e15a0c166b861b12666afCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d4fa5e47af1e7bb2bbcaac062b14216c00e92148CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/188d070de9132667956f5aadd98d2bd87d3eac89CVE reference, Linux
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
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.