CVE-2023-53116 [High] | Use-After-Free in Linux Kernel

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvmet: avoid potential UAF in nvmet_req_complete() An nvme target ->queue_response() operation implementation may free the request passed as argument. Such implementation potentially could result in a use after free of the request pointer when percpu_ref_put() is called in nvmet_req_complete(). Avoid such problem by using a local variable to save the sq pointer before calling __nvmet_req_complete(), thus avoiding dereferencing the req pointer after that function call.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-02-26	0.02%	0.06%	+0.04%
2	2025-05-03	—	0.02%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-02-26

0.02%

0.06%

+0.04%

2025-05-03

—

0.02%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
7.8	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.8	5.9	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

7.8

3.1

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.8

5.9

[email protected]

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-53116

vendor	priority	summary	link
`debian`	not yet assigned	CVE-2023-53116 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5.	https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-53116
`redhat`	medium	—	https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53116
`suse`	medium	—	https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53116/
`ubuntu`	medium	CVE-2023-53116 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1551 status rows across 10 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1145, ignored 147, released 142, not-affected 101, needed 15, needs-triage 1.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-53116

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-53116

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
linux	linux_kernel	>= 4.8, < 4.14.311	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 4.15, < 4.19.279	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 4.20, < 5.4.238	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.5, < 5.10.176	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.11, < 5.15.104	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.16, < 6.1.21	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 6.2, < 6.2.8	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	6.3	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.3:rc1::::::
linux	linux_kernel	6.3	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.3:rc2::::::

References for CVE-2023-53116

URL	Tags
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/04c394208831d5e0d5cfee46722eb0f033cd4083	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6173a77b7e9d3e202bdb9897b23f2a8afe7bf286	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8ed9813871038b25a934b21ab76b5b7dbf44fc3a	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a6317235da8aa7cb97529ebc8121cc2a4c4c437a	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bcd535f07c58342302a2cd2bdd8894fe0872c8a9	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e5d99b29012bbf0e86929403209723b2806500c1	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f1d5888a5efe345b63c430b256e95acb0a475642	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fafcb4b26393870c45462f9af6a48e581dbbcf7e	Patch

URL

CVE-2023-53116 | nvmet: avoid potential UAF in nvmet_req_complete()

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-53116

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-53116

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-53116

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-53116

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-53116

References for CVE-2023-53116