Vulnerability in Kernel (CVE-2023-53311)

Summary

Vulnerability in Kernel (CVE-2023-53311). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. Mitigation: upgrade to 4.14.323, 4.19.292, 5.4.254, 5.10.191, 5.15.127, 6.1.46, 6.4.11 or later.

Original description

The description as published by the source.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

nilfs2: fix use-after-free of nilfs_root in dirtying inodes via iput

During unmount process of nilfs2, nothing holds nilfs_root structure after
nilfs2 detaches its writer in nilfs_detach_log_writer(). Previously,
nilfs_evict_inode() could cause use-after-free read for nilfs_root if
inodes are left in "garbage_list" and released by nilfs_dispose_list at
the end of nilfs_detach_log_writer(), and this bug was fixed by commit
9b5a04ac3ad9 ("nilfs2: fix use-after-free bug of nilfs_root in
nilfs_evict_inode()").

However, it turned out that there is another possibility of UAF in the
call path where mark_inode_dirty_sync() is called from iput():

nilfs_detach_log_writer()
nilfs_dispose_list()
iput()
mark_inode_dirty_sync()
__mark_inode_dirty()
nilfs_dirty_inode()
__nilfs_mark_inode_dirty()
nilfs_load_inode_block() --> causes UAF of nilfs_root struct

This can happen after commit 0ae45f63d4ef ("vfs: add support for a
lazytime mount option"), which changed iput() to call
mark_inode_dirty_sync() on its final reference if i_state has I_DIRTY_TIME
flag and i_nlink is non-zero.

This issue appears after commit 28a65b49eb53 ("nilfs2: do not write dirty
data after degenerating to read-only") when using the syzbot reproducer,
but the issue has potentially existed before.

Fix this issue by adding a "purging flag" to the nilfs structure, setting
that flag while dispos…

Source: OSV.dev (Open Source Vulnerabilities) NVD OSV

Auto-generated summary

Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.

A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2023-53311 has been found in Kernel.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
What to do: upgrade Kernel to 4.14.323, 4.19.292, 5.4.254, 5.10.191, 5.15.127, 6.1.46, 6.4.11 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Kernel CVE-2023-53311" on the vendor's site.

CVE-2023-53311 (Kernel)
Attack vector: local / no user interaction
Patched: 4.14.323, 4.19.292, 5.4.254, 5.10.191, 5.15.127, 6.1.46, 6.4.11 — apply immediately
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.

❓ What is the problem

A vulnerability (unclassified) exists in Kernel.

📍 Affected scope

Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Kernel.

🔥 Severity

Severity: ?. Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.

🔧 How to fix

Update to 4.14.323, 4.19.292, 5.4.254, 5.10.191, 5.15.127, 6.1.46, 6.4.11.

🛡️ Workaround

Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.

🔍 Detection

Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run grep -r 'Kernel' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.

Response actions

Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order

1
Identify exposure identify
```
grep -r 'Kernel' . | grep -v node_modules
```
リポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で Kernel を grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。
2
Apply patch patch
```
Upgrade Kernel to 4.14.323, 4.19.292, 5.4.254, 5.10.191, 5.15.127, 6.1.46, 6.4.11
```
ステージング環境で 4.14.323, 4.19.292, 5.4.254, 5.10.191, 5.15.127, 6.1.46, 6.4.11 に上げて回帰テスト → 本番反映。回帰テストはアプリの主要ハッピーパスを含めること。
3
Post-deployment verification verify
```
Confirm patched version is live in production
```
パッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。

Affected packages

Linux Kernel

[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"4.0.0"},{"fixed":"4.14.323"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"4.15.0"},{"fixed":"4.19.292"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"4.20.0"},{"fixed":"5.4.254"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"5.5.0"},{"fixed":"5.10.191"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"5.11.0"},{"fixed":"5.15.127"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"5.16.0"},{"fixed":"6.1.46"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"6.2.0"},{"fixed":"6.4.11"}]}]

Fix status by distribution

Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE

Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53311 linux Fixed in: 5.10.191-1
Ubuntu UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53311 linux-aws