Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-53367 is a Linux kernel memory leak in the accel/habanalabs driver. A local authenticated user could trigger availability impact, potentially causing resource exhaustion. The source bundle does not show data theft, integrity impact, or confirmed active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted availability risk, not a broad remote compromise. Patch during normal kernel maintenance, faster where shared or multi-tenant systems expose affected accelerator resources to local users.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-401 in Linux accel/habanalabs user mapping handling. A leak occurs when user_mappings information is cleared after a captured user mapping, followed by a hard reset and immediate new context creation. CVSS 3.1 is 5.5: local, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, high availability impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on Linux systems running affected kernel versions with the habanalabs accelerator driver present and reachable by local users or workloads. The bundle does not map affected versions to specific distribution packages or appliances.
Exploitation context
The CVSS vector requires local access and low privileges. The CVE is not listed as KEV in the bundle, and no cited source reports active exploitation or public weaponization.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports a local availability-only memory leak in a specific Linux kernel driver path. The bundle provides stable fix commits but no exploit indicators, distro package mapping, or proof-of-concept details. Avoid assuming exposure without confirming driver presence and affected kernel lineage.
Mitigation direction
- Update to a kernel or vendor package containing the referenced stable fixes.
- Check Linux distribution security advisories for exact fixed package versions.
- Prioritize systems using habanalabs accelerator hardware or driver paths.
- Restrict local access to systems where untrusted users can run workloads.
- If unused, consider disabling the affected driver per vendor guidance.
Validation and detection
- Inventory kernels against vendor advisories and the CVE affected-version data.
- Verify fixed builds include the referenced stable kernel commits.
- Identify systems with habanalabs accelerator support enabled or loaded.
- Review local-user and workload access on exposed compute hosts.
- Monitor vendor updates for package-level fixed-version mapping.
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-2023-53367 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/973e0890e5264cb075ef668661cad06b67777121CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/314a7ffd7c196b27eedd50cb7553029e17789b55CVE 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.