LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2023-53421: blk-cgroup: Reinit blkg_iostat_set after clearing in blkcg_reset_stats()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: blk-cgroup: Reinit blkg_iostat_set after clearing in blkcg_reset_stats() When blkg_alloc() is called to allocate a blkcg_gq structure with the associated blkg_iostat_set's, there are 2 fields within blkg_iostat_set that requires proper initialization - blkg & sync. The former field was introduced by commit 3b8cc6298724 ("blk-cgroup: Optimize blkcg_rstat_flush()") while the later one was introduced by commit f73316482977 ("blk-cgroup: reimplement basic IO stats using cgroup rstat"). Unfortunately those fields in the blkg_iostat_set's are not properly re-initialized when they are cleared in v1's blkcg_reset_stats(). This can lead to a kernel panic due to NULL pointer access of the blkg pointer. The missing initialization of sync is less problematic and can be a problem in a debug kernel due to missing lockdep initialization. Fix these problems by re-initializing them after memory clearing.

MediumCVSS 5.5Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This Linux kernel issue can let a local authenticated user trigger a kernel panic through a blk-cgroup statistics reset path. The business impact is service interruption, not data theft or tampering. There is no KEV listing or source evidence of active exploitation in the bundle.

Executive priority

Treat as a planned but important availability fix. It is not remote code execution, but a local denial-of-service kernel panic can disrupt production hosts, especially shared infrastructure.

Technical view

blkcg_reset_stats() clears blkg_iostat_set fields used by blk-cgroup v1 but failed to reinitialize blkg and sync. That can cause NULL pointer access and kernel panic. The CVSS vector is local, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, availability impact only.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on Linux systems running affected kernel lines in the bundle, including 5.5 through fixed stable releases around 5.10.258, 5.15.199, 6.1.162, 6.3.13, 6.4.4, and 6.5, where blk-cgroup v1 behavior is reachable.

Exploitation context

The bundle marks KEV as false and provides no public exploitation evidence. Exploitation requires local access with low privileges and appears limited to crashing the kernel, causing denial of service rather than confidentiality or integrity compromise.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to the CVE record and Linux stable commit references. The root cause is incomplete reinitialization after memory clearing in blkcg_reset_stats(). Do not infer broader impact beyond local availability loss without vendor or kernel-maintainer confirmation.

Mitigation direction

  • Update kernels using distribution guidance that includes the referenced stable fixes.
  • Prioritize shared, multi-user, and container-host systems first.
  • Track vendor advisories for exact fixed package versions and backports.
  • Avoid deploying custom kernels lacking the referenced blk-cgroup fix.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions across servers, workstations, and container hosts.
  • Confirm installed kernels include a referenced stable fix or distro backport.
  • Check whether affected systems expose cgroup v1 blk-cgroup functionality.
  • Review crash logs for kernel panic traces involving blkcg_reset_stats or blkg_iostat_set.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
8

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-476: 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 lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2023-53421 mapping review

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

Open ATT&CK lookup
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-2023-53421Attack 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
Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxf73316482977ac401ac37245c9df48079d4e11f3, f73316482977ac401ac37245c9df48079d4e11f3, f73316482977ac401ac37245c9df48079d4e11f3, f73316482977ac401ac37245c9df48079d4e11f3, f73316482977ac401ac37245c9df48079d4e11f3, f73316482977ac401ac37245c9df48079d4e11f3unaffected
LinuxLinux5.5, 0, 5.10.258, 5.15.199, 6.1.162, 6.3.13, 6.4.4, 6.5affected
Weakness

CWE details

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