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CVE Record

CVE-2023-53440: nilfs2: fix sysfs interface lifetime

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nilfs2: fix sysfs interface lifetime The current nilfs2 sysfs support has issues with the timing of creation and deletion of sysfs entries, potentially leading to null pointer dereferences, use-after-free, and lockdep warnings. Some of the sysfs attributes for nilfs2 per-filesystem instance refer to metadata file "cpfile", "sufile", or "dat", but nilfs_sysfs_create_device_group that creates those attributes is executed before the inodes for these metadata files are loaded, and nilfs_sysfs_delete_device_group which deletes these sysfs entries is called after releasing their metadata file inodes. Therefore, access to some of these sysfs attributes may occur outside of the lifetime of these metadata files, resulting in inode NULL pointer dereferences or use-after-free. In addition, the call to nilfs_sysfs_create_device_group() is made during the locking period of the semaphore "ns_sem" of nilfs object, so the shrinker call caused by the memory allocation for the sysfs entries, may derive lock dependencies "ns_sem" -> (shrinker) -> "locks acquired in nilfs_evict_inode()". Since nilfs2 may acquire "ns_sem" deep in the call stack holding other locks via its error handler __nilfs_error(), this causes lockdep to report circular locking. This is a false positive and no circular locking actually occurs as no inodes exist yet when nilfs_sysfs_create_device_group() is called. Fortunately, the lockdep warnings can be resolved by simply moving the call to nilfs_sysfs_create_device_group() out of "ns_sem". This fixes these sysfs issues by revising where the device's sysfs interface is created/deleted and keeping its lifetime within the lifetime of the metadata files above.

MediumCVSS 5.5Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2023-53440 is a Linux kernel nilfs2 filesystem bug. Local users could trigger kernel crashes through sysfs lifetime errors, causing denial of service. The business impact is availability, not data theft, based on the supplied CVSS vector.

Executive priority

Treat as a normal kernel maintenance priority unless nilfs2 is used on shared or multi-user systems. The likely impact is system crash or disruption, not confirmed compromise.

Technical view

The nilfs2 sysfs interface could expose attributes before metadata inodes are loaded or after release. Access outside the metadata lifetime may cause NULL pointer dereference or use-after-free. The upstream fix changes sysfs device group creation and deletion timing.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to Linux systems with vulnerable kernels where nilfs2 support is present and local low-privileged access is possible. Internet-facing remote exposure is not indicated by the source bundle.

Exploitation context

The bundle marks KEV as false and provides no cited evidence of active exploitation. The CVSS vector is local, low complexity, low privilege, no user interaction, with high availability impact.

Researcher notes

Relevant code area is nilfs2 sysfs lifetime management around metadata files cpfile, sufile, and dat. Evidence supports CWE-476 and availability impact; exploitability details beyond local privileged context are not provided.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply a Linux kernel update containing the referenced stable nilfs2 fixes.
  • Prioritize hosts where untrusted users can obtain local accounts or run workloads.
  • If updates are delayed, check distribution vendor guidance for nilfs2-specific temporary controls.
  • Track vendor advisories because package backports may not match upstream version numbers.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions across servers, workstations, and container hosts.
  • Check whether nilfs2 support is enabled, loaded, or used on each system.
  • Compare installed kernels with distribution advisories or the referenced stable commits.
  • Review local-user and multi-tenant systems first for availability risk.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
10

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

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ATT&CK lookup starting points

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-476: Exact CWE lookup

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2023-53440 mapping review

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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
9Source 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-2023-53440Attack 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
LinuxLinuxdd70edbde2627f47df118d899de6bbb55abcfdbf, dd70edbde2627f47df118d899de6bbb55abcfdbf, dd70edbde2627f47df118d899de6bbb55abcfdbf, dd70edbde2627f47df118d899de6bbb55abcfdbf, dd70edbde2627f47df118d899de6bbb55abcfdbf, dd70edbde2627f47df118d899de6bbb55abcfdbf, dd70edbde2627f47df118d899de6bbb55abcfdbf, dd70edbde2627f47df118d899de6bbb55abcfdbfunaffected
LinuxLinux3.17, 0, 4.14.313, 4.19.281, 5.4.241, 5.10.178, 5.15.107, 6.1.24, 6.2.11, 6.3affected
Weakness

CWE details

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

CWE-476 · source CWE mapping

NULL Pointer Dereference

NULL Pointer Dereference represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.