CVE-2023-53221 | bpf: Fix memleak due to fentry attach failure

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Fix memleak due to fentry attach failure If it fails to attach fentry, the allocated bpf trampoline image will be left in the system. That can be verified by checking /proc/kallsyms. This meamleak can be verified by a simple bpf program as follows: SEC("fentry/trap_init") int fentry_run() { return 0; } It will fail to attach trap_init because this function is freed after kernel init, and then we can find the trampoline image is left in the system by checking /proc/kallsyms. $ tail /proc/kallsyms ffffffffc0613000 t bpf_trampoline_6442453466_1 [bpf] ffffffffc06c3000 t bpf_trampoline_6442453466_1 [bpf] $ bpftool btf dump file /sys/kernel/btf/vmlinux | grep "FUNC 'trap_init'" [2522] FUNC 'trap_init' type_id=119 linkage=static $ echo $((6442453466 & 0x7fffffff)) 2522 Note that there are two left bpf trampoline images, that is because the libbpf will fallback to raw tracepoint if -EINVAL is returned.

Published: 2025-09-15 Last update: 2026-01-14 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-53221 is rated Low Risk (23/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.02%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-53221

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-09-16 0.02%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-53221

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 [email protected]
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-53221

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-53221

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-53221 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 4, open 1. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-53221
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53221
suse medium CVE-2023-53221 severity moderate: SUSE including 431 source package names (2.1.3-6.80:kernel-default-base-6.4.0-35.1.21.12, 2.1.3-7.57:kernel-default-6.4.0-35.1, …), 850 product×package rows across 173 product lines (Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container, Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/kvm-os-container, … (173 product lines)): Fixed 471, Known Affected 231, Known Not Affected 148. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53221/
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-53221 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1414 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1017, ignored 158, not-affected 118, released 88, needed 33. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-53221

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-53221

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 5.10.28, < 5.11 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.11.11, < 5.12 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.12.1, < 6.1.39 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.3.13 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.4, < 6.4.4 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.12 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.12:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.12 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.12:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.12 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.12:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.12 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.12:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.12 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.12:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-53221

cvelogic Threat Intelligence