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CVE Record

CVE-2023-53713: arm64: sme: Use STR P to clear FFR context field in streaming SVE mode

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arm64: sme: Use STR P to clear FFR context field in streaming SVE mode The FFR is a predicate register which can vary between 16 and 256 bits in size depending upon the configured vector length. When saving the SVE state in streaming SVE mode, the FFR register is inaccessible and so commit 9f5848665788 ("arm64/sve: Make access to FFR optional") simply clears the FFR field of the in-memory context structure. Unfortunately, it achieves this using an unconditional 8-byte store and so if the SME vector length is anything other than 64 bytes in size we will either fail to clear the entire field or, worse, we will corrupt memory immediately following the structure. This has led to intermittent kfence splats in CI [1] and can trigger kmalloc Redzone corruption messages when running the 'fp-stress' kselftest: | ============================================================================= | BUG kmalloc-1k (Not tainted): kmalloc Redzone overwritten | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 0xffff000809bf1e22-0xffff000809bf1e27 @offset=7714. First byte 0x0 instead of 0xcc | Allocated in do_sme_acc+0x9c/0x220 age=2613 cpu=1 pid=531 | __kmalloc+0x8c/0xcc | do_sme_acc+0x9c/0x220 | ... Replace the 8-byte store with a store of a predicate register which has been zero-initialised with PFALSE, ensuring that the entire field is cleared in memory. [1] https://lore.kernel.org/r/CA+G9fYtU7HsV0R0dp4XEH5xXHSJFw8KyDf5VQrLLfMxWfxQkag@mail.gmail.com

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2023-53713 is a Linux kernel arm64 memory-corruption flaw in SME/SVE state handling. A kernel path cleared the wrong amount of memory for the FFR field, which could leave data uncleared or corrupt adjacent memory. The public sources show test and CI corruption symptoms, not active exploitation.

Executive priority

Handle through normal kernel patch governance, with higher priority for arm64 fleets using SME-capable processors. The sources show real memory corruption but no evidence of active exploitation or broad remote exposure.

Technical view

In arm64 streaming SVE mode, FFR is inaccessible, so Linux cleared the saved FFR context in memory. The vulnerable code used an unconditional 8-byte store although FFR size varies with vector length, causing incomplete clearing or overwrite past the context structure. The fix uses a zeroed predicate-register store.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to Linux arm64 systems using affected kernel versions or branches with SME/streaming SVE support. Organizations running commodity x86 Linux are not implicated by the provided sources. Kernel packages from distributions may backport fixes, so version strings alone are not enough.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not cite KEV listing, public exploitation, exploit code, or attacker technique. Evidence is kernel CI and kselftest memory-corruption reports, including KFENCE and kmalloc redzone alerts. Treat exploitability as unproven from these sources, but kernel memory corruption still warrants timely remediation.

Researcher notes

Focus validation on the arm64 SME streaming SVE save path and the FFR context field size mismatch. The key behavior is an 8-byte clear against a variable-size predicate field, corrected by storing a zeroed predicate register.

Mitigation direction

  • Update to a kernel containing the referenced stable fix commits.
  • Check Linux distribution advisories for backported fixes in vendor kernels.
  • Prioritize affected arm64 systems with SME-capable hardware or workloads.
  • If no vendor fix is available, follow vendor guidance for interim risk handling.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory arm64 Linux systems and kernel package build metadata.
  • Confirm whether the kernel includes one of the referenced stable fixes.
  • Review kernel logs for KFENCE or kmalloc redzone corruption indicators.
  • Run appropriate vendor-approved SME/SVE regression tests after patching.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

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

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
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.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
0ADP providers
5Source links

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

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Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux9f5848665788a0f07bc175cb2cdd06d367b7556e, 9f5848665788a0f07bc175cb2cdd06d367b7556e, 9f5848665788a0f07bc175cb2cdd06d367b7556e, 9f5848665788a0f07bc175cb2cdd06d367b7556eunaffected
LinuxLinux5.16, 0, 6.1.39, 6.3.13, 6.4.4, 6.5affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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