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CVE Record

CVE-2023-54033: bpf: fix a memory leak in the LRU and LRU_PERCPU hash maps

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: fix a memory leak in the LRU and LRU_PERCPU hash maps The LRU and LRU_PERCPU maps allocate a new element on update before locking the target hash table bucket. Right after that the maps try to lock the bucket. If this fails, then maps return -EBUSY to the caller without releasing the allocated element. This makes the element untracked: it doesn't belong to either of free lists, and it doesn't belong to the hash table, so can't be re-used; this eventually leads to the permanent -ENOMEM on LRU map updates, which is unexpected. Fix this by returning the element to the local free list if bucket locking fails.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysisunknown

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This Linux kernel issue can leak memory when eBPF LRU hash map updates fail to lock a bucket. Over time, affected systems can stop accepting LRU map updates with permanent out-of-memory errors. The sources do not provide CVSS, CWE, confirmed exploitation, or business-impact severity.

Executive priority

Handle through normal kernel patch governance, with higher priority for hosts running BPF-heavy monitoring, networking, or security controls. Current public evidence does not support emergency response by itself.

Technical view

LRU and LRU_PERCPU BPF hash maps allocate an element before taking the target bucket lock. If locking fails, the update returns -EBUSY without releasing the element, leaving it untracked by free lists or the hash table. The resolved fix returns the element to the local free list on lock failure.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to Linux systems running affected kernels and using BPF LRU or LRU_PERCPU hash maps. The source bundle lists Linux as affected but gives incomplete version-boundary detail, so administrators should verify against their distribution kernel advisories.

Exploitation context

No active exploitation is stated in the source bundle, and KEV is false. The described outcome is resource exhaustion for affected BPF LRU map updates, not remote code execution. Required access conditions are not specified in the provided sources.

Researcher notes

The public record describes a kernel memory leak fix but omits CVSS, CWE, exploitability prerequisites, and distribution-specific ranges. The affected-version data in the bundle appears sparse, so avoid overclaiming exposure without vendor package mapping.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply vendor or distribution kernel updates containing the stable kernel fixes.
  • Prioritize systems that use eBPF, observability, networking, or security tooling with LRU BPF maps.
  • Check vendor advisories for exact affected and fixed package versions.
  • Use operational monitoring for repeated BPF map update failures or unexpected ENOMEM conditions.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions across production, staging, and appliance-like hosts.
  • Confirm whether workloads or agents use BPF LRU or LRU_PERCPU hash maps.
  • Map installed kernels to distribution advisories or the referenced stable commits.
  • After patching, verify kernel package versions and normal BPF-dependent service behavior.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

Public sources used

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.

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CVE-2023-54033 mapping review

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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

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux20b6cc34ea74b6a84599c1f8a70f3315b56a1883, 20b6cc34ea74b6a84599c1f8a70f3315b56a1883, 20b6cc34ea74b6a84599c1f8a70f3315b56a1883, 20b6cc34ea74b6a84599c1f8a70f3315b56a1883unaffected
LinuxLinux5.11, 0, 5.15.115, 6.1.31, 6.3.5, 6.4affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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