🛡️ CVE-2023-53538 on Ubuntu — linux
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: insert tree mod log move in push_node_left There is a fairly unlikely race condition in tree mod log rewind that can result in a kernel panic which has the following trace: [530.569] BTRFS critical (device sda3): unable to find logical 0 length 4096 [530.585] BTRFS critical (device sda3): unable to find logical 0 length 4096 [530.602] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000002 [530.618] #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode [530.629] #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page [530.641] PGD 0 P4D 0 [530.647] Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP [530.654] CPU: 30 PID: 398973 Comm: below Kdump: loaded Tainted: G S O K 5.12.0-0_fbk13_clang_7455_gb24de3bdb045 #1 [530.680] Hardware name: Quanta Mono Lake-M.2 SATA 1HY9U9Z001G/Mono Lake-M.2 SATA, BIOS F20_3A15 08/16/2017 [530.703] RIP: 0010:__btrfs_map_block+0xaa/0xd00 [530.755] RSP: 0018:ffffc9002c2f7600 EFLAGS: 00010246 [530.767] RAX: ffffffffffffffea RBX: ffff888292e41000 RCX: f2702d8b8be15100 [530.784] RDX: ffff88885fda6fb8 RSI: ffff88885fd973c8 RDI: ffff88885fd973c8 [530.800] RBP: ffff888292e410d0 R08: ffffffff82fd7fd0 R09: 00000000fffeffff [530.816] R10: ffffffff82e57fd0 R11: ffffffff82e57d70 R12: 0000000000000000 [530.832] R13: 0000000000001000 R14: 0000000000001000 R15: ffffc9002c2f76f0 [530.848] FS: 00007f38d64af000(0000) GS:ffff88885fd80000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [530.866] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [530.880] CR2: 0000000000000002 CR3: 00000002b6770004 CR4: 00000000003706e0 [530.896] DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 [530.912] DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 [530.928] Call Trace: [530.934] ? btrfs_printk+0x13b/0x18c [530.943] ? btrfs_bio_counter_inc_blocked+0x3d/0x130 [530.955] btrfs_map_bio+0x75/0x330 [530.963] ? kmem_cache_alloc+0x12a/0x2d0 [530.973] ? btrfs_submit_metadata_bio+0x63/0x100 [530.984] btrfs_submit_metadata_bio+0xa4/0x100 [530.995] submit_extent_page+0x30f/0x360 [531.004] read_extent_buffer_pages+0x49e/0x6d0 [531.015] ? submit_extent_page+0x360/0x360 [531.025] btree_read_extent_buffer_pages+0x5f/0x150 [531.037] read_tree_block+0x37/0x60 [531.046] read_block_for_search+0x18b/0x410 [531.056] btrfs_search_old_slot+0x198/0x2f0 [531.066] resolve_indirect_ref+0xfe/0x6f0 [531.076] ? ulist_alloc+0x31/0x60 [531.084] ? kmem_cache_alloc_trace+0x12e/0x2b0 [531.095] find_parent_nodes+0x720/0x1830 [531.105] ? ulist_alloc+0x10/0x60 [531.113] iterate_extent_inodes+0xea/0x370 [531.123] ? btrfs_previous_extent_item+0x8f/0x110 [531.134] ? btrfs_search_path_in_tree+0x240/0x240 [531.146] iterate_inodes_from_logical+0x98/0xd0 [531.157] ? btrfs_search_path_in_tree+0x240/0x240 [531.168] btrfs_ioctl_logical_to_ino+0xd9/0x180 [531.179] btrfs_ioctl+0xe2/0x2eb0 This occurs when logical inode resolution takes a tree mod log sequence number, and then while backref walking hits a rewind on a busy node which has the following sequence of tree mod log operations (numbers filled in from a specific example, but they are somewhat arbitrary) REMOVE_WHILE_FREEING slot 532 REMOVE_WHILE_FREEING slot 531 REMOVE_WHILE_FREEING slot 530 ... REMOVE_WHILE_FREEING slot 0 REMOVE slot 455 REMOVE slot 454 REMOVE slot 453 ... REMOVE slot 0 ADD slot 455 ADD slot 454 ADD slot 453 ... ADD slot 0 MOVE src slot 0 -> dst slot 456 nritems 533 REMOVE slot 455 REMOVE slot 454 REMOVE slot 453 ... REMOVE slot 0 When this sequence gets applied via btrfs_tree_mod_log_rewind, it allocates a fresh rewind eb, and first inserts the correct key info for the 533 elements, then overwrites the first 456 of them, then decrements the count by 456 via the add ops, then rewinds the move by doing a memmove from 456:988->0:532. We have never written anything past 532, ---truncated---
Distribution advisory
This page covers CVE-2023-53538 as tracked by Ubuntu, for the package linux. No fixed version has been recorded for this distribution yet.
How this vulnerability can be exploited
This issue can be reached with local access to the system, attack complexity is low, an attacker needs low-level privileges on the target. No user interaction is required. The scope is unchanged, so the impact stays within the vulnerable component. Rated impact: confidentiality none, integrity none, availability high.
CVSS metrics in full
The score comes from this vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- Attack vector: Local — a local account, shell or session on the host is needed.
- Attack complexity: Low — the attack works reliably, with no preparation.
- Privileges required: Low — an ordinary user account is enough.
- User interaction: None — nobody has to be tricked into anything.
- Scope: Unchanged — the damage stays inside the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality impact: None.
- Integrity impact: None.
- Availability impact: High — total loss, or loss the attacker controls.
Affected software
UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53538 is recorded against 124 packages.
- linux
- linux-allwinner-5.19
- linux-aws
- linux-aws-5.0
- linux-aws-5.11
- linux-aws-5.13
- linux-aws-5.15
- linux-aws-5.19
- linux-aws-5.3
- linux-aws-5.4
- linux-aws-5.8
- linux-aws-6.2
- linux-aws-6.5
- linux-aws-fips
- linux-aws-hwe
- linux-azure
- linux-azure-4.15
- linux-azure-5.11
- linux-azure-5.13
- linux-azure-5.15
- linux-azure-5.19
- linux-azure-5.3
- linux-azure-5.4
- linux-azure-5.8
Show the remaining 100 packages
- linux-azure-6.11
- linux-azure-6.2
- linux-azure-6.5
- linux-azure-edge
- linux-azure-fde
- linux-azure-fde-5.15
- linux-azure-fde-5.19
- linux-azure-fde-6.2
- linux-azure-fips
- linux-bluefield
- linux-fips
- linux-gcp
- linux-gcp-4.15
- linux-gcp-5.11
- linux-gcp-5.13
- linux-gcp-5.15
- linux-gcp-5.19
- linux-gcp-5.3
- linux-gcp-5.4
- linux-gcp-5.8
- linux-gcp-6.11
- linux-gcp-6.2
- linux-gcp-6.5
- linux-gcp-fips
- linux-gke
- linux-gke-4.15
- linux-gke-5.15
- linux-gke-5.4
- linux-gkeop
- linux-gkeop-5.15
- linux-gkeop-5.4
- linux-hwe
- linux-hwe-5.11
- linux-hwe-5.13
- linux-hwe-5.15
- linux-hwe-5.19
- linux-hwe-5.4
- linux-hwe-5.8
- linux-hwe-6.11
- linux-hwe-6.2
- linux-hwe-6.5
- linux-hwe-edge
- linux-ibm
- linux-ibm-5.15
- linux-ibm-5.4
- linux-intel
- linux-intel-5.13
- linux-intel-iot-realtime
- linux-intel-iotg
- linux-intel-iotg-5.15
- linux-iot
- linux-kvm
- linux-lowlatency
- linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15
- linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19
- linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11
- linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2
- linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5
- linux-lts-xenial
- linux-nvidia
- linux-nvidia-6.2
- linux-nvidia-6.5
- linux-nvidia-tegra
- linux-nvidia-tegra-5.15
- linux-nvidia-tegra-igx
- linux-oem
- linux-oem-5.10
- linux-oem-5.13
- linux-oem-5.14
- linux-oem-5.17
- linux-oem-5.6
- linux-oem-6.0
- linux-oem-6.1
- linux-oem-6.11
- linux-oem-6.5
- linux-oem-6.8
- linux-oracle
- linux-oracle-5.0
- linux-oracle-5.11
- linux-oracle-5.13
- linux-oracle-5.15
- linux-oracle-5.3
- linux-oracle-5.4
- linux-oracle-5.8
- linux-oracle-6.5
- linux-raspi
- linux-raspi-5.4
- linux-raspi-realtime
- linux-raspi2
- linux-realtime
- linux-riscv
- linux-riscv-5.11
- linux-riscv-5.15
- linux-riscv-5.19
- linux-riscv-5.8
- linux-riscv-6.5
- linux-starfive-5.19
- linux-starfive-6.2
- linux-starfive-6.5
- linux-xilinx-zynqmp
Timeline and source
Published on 4 October 2025 and last revised on 19 August 2026. No public exploit is currently recorded for this entry. Record sourced from OSV.
References
ubuntu.com (Report)
www.cve.org (Report)
git.kernel.org (Report)
git.kernel.org (Report)
git.kernel.org (Report)
Other advisories for this package
linux has other advisories on record. If you are patching this one, these are worth checking on the same host:
- DEBIAN-CVE-2022-4994 (published 30 Jul 2026)
- CVE-2026-35233 (4.4 Medium, published 1 May 2026)
- CVE-2026-21996 (3.3 Low, published 1 May 2026)
- CVE-2026-21991 (5.5 Medium, published 16 Mar 2026)
- CGA-mcwh-q4vm-9f29 (published 29 Jan 2026)
- CGA-w6xv-3fg4-grm5 (published 29 Jan 2026)
- CGA-7wmc-rrpx-535w (published 7 Jan 2026)
- CGA-wjfq-rjw8-x7xh (published 7 Jan 2026)
CVE-2023-53538 on other distributions
Each distribution ships its own build and its own fixed version. Pick the one you run:
Details
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Affected Packages
| Software | From version | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| linux | — | — |
| linux-allwinner-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-aws | — | — |
| linux-aws-5.0 | — | — |
| linux-aws-5.11 | — | — |
| linux-aws-5.13 | — | — |
| linux-aws-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-aws-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-aws-5.3 | — | — |
| linux-aws-5.4 | — | — |
| linux-aws-5.8 | — | — |
| linux-aws-6.2 | — | — |
| linux-aws-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-aws-fips | — | — |
| linux-aws-hwe | — | — |
| linux-azure | — | — |
| linux-azure-4.15 | — | — |
| linux-azure-5.11 | — | — |
| linux-azure-5.13 | — | — |
| linux-azure-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-azure-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-azure-5.3 | — | — |
| linux-azure-5.4 | — | — |
| linux-azure-5.8 | — | — |
| linux-azure-6.11 | — | — |
| linux-azure-6.2 | — | — |
| linux-azure-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-azure-edge | — | — |
| linux-azure-fde | — | — |
| linux-azure-fde-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-azure-fde-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-azure-fde-6.2 | — | — |
| linux-azure-fips | — | — |
| linux-bluefield | — | — |
| linux-fips | — | — |
| linux-gcp | — | — |
| linux-gcp-4.15 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-5.11 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-5.13 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-5.3 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-5.4 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-5.8 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-6.11 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-6.2 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-gcp-fips | — | — |
| linux-gke | — | — |
| linux-gke-4.15 | — | — |
| linux-gke-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-gke-5.4 | — | — |
| linux-gkeop | — | — |
| linux-gkeop-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-gkeop-5.4 | — | — |
| linux-hwe | — | — |
| linux-hwe-5.11 | — | — |
| linux-hwe-5.13 | — | — |
| linux-hwe-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-hwe-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-hwe-5.4 | — | — |
| linux-hwe-5.8 | — | — |
| linux-hwe-6.11 | — | — |
| linux-hwe-6.2 | — | — |
| linux-hwe-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-hwe-edge | — | — |
| linux-ibm | — | — |
| linux-ibm-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-ibm-5.4 | — | — |
| linux-intel | — | — |
| linux-intel-5.13 | — | — |
| linux-intel-iot-realtime | — | — |
| linux-intel-iotg | — | — |
| linux-intel-iotg-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-iot | — | — |
| linux-kvm | — | — |
| linux-lowlatency | — | — |
| linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11 | — | — |
| linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2 | — | — |
| linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-lts-xenial | — | — |
| linux-nvidia | — | — |
| linux-nvidia-6.2 | — | — |
| linux-nvidia-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-nvidia-tegra | — | — |
| linux-nvidia-tegra-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-nvidia-tegra-igx | — | — |
| linux-oem | — | — |
| linux-oem-5.10 | — | — |
| linux-oem-5.13 | — | — |
| linux-oem-5.14 | — | — |
| linux-oem-5.17 | — | — |
| linux-oem-5.6 | — | — |
| linux-oem-6.0 | — | — |
| linux-oem-6.1 | — | — |
| linux-oem-6.11 | — | — |
| linux-oem-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-oem-6.8 | — | — |
| linux-oracle | — | — |
| linux-oracle-5.0 | — | — |
| linux-oracle-5.11 | — | — |
| linux-oracle-5.13 | — | — |
| linux-oracle-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-oracle-5.3 | — | — |
| linux-oracle-5.4 | — | — |
| linux-oracle-5.8 | — | — |
| linux-oracle-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-raspi | — | — |
| linux-raspi-5.4 | — | — |
| linux-raspi-realtime | — | — |
| linux-raspi2 | — | — |
| linux-realtime | — | — |
| linux-riscv | — | — |
| linux-riscv-5.11 | — | — |
| linux-riscv-5.15 | — | — |
| linux-riscv-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-riscv-5.8 | — | — |
| linux-riscv-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-starfive-5.19 | — | — |
| linux-starfive-6.2 | — | — |
| linux-starfive-6.5 | — | — |
| linux-xilinx-zynqmp | — | — |
References
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