CVE-2023-53278 | ubifs: Fix memory leak in ubifs_sysfs_init()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ubifs: Fix memory leak in ubifs_sysfs_init() When insmod ubifs.ko, a kmemleak reported as below: unreferenced object 0xffff88817fb1a780 (size 8): comm "insmod", pid 25265, jiffies 4295239702 (age 100.130s) hex dump (first 8 bytes): 75 62 69 66 73 00 ff ff ubifs... backtrace: [<ffffffff81b3fc4c>] slab_post_alloc_hook+0x9c/0x3c0 [<ffffffff81b44bf3>] __kmalloc_track_caller+0x183/0x410 [<ffffffff8198d3da>] kstrdup+0x3a/0x80 [<ffffffff8198d486>] kstrdup_const+0x66/0x80 [<ffffffff83989325>] kvasprintf_const+0x155/0x190 [<ffffffff83bf55bb>] kobject_set_name_vargs+0x5b/0x150 [<ffffffff83bf576b>] kobject_set_name+0xbb/0xf0 [<ffffffff8100204c>] do_one_initcall+0x14c/0x5a0 [<ffffffff8157e380>] do_init_module+0x1f0/0x660 [<ffffffff815857be>] load_module+0x6d7e/0x7590 [<ffffffff8158644f>] __do_sys_finit_module+0x19f/0x230 [<ffffffff815866b3>] __x64_sys_finit_module+0x73/0xb0 [<ffffffff88c98e85>] do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80 [<ffffffff88e00087>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd When kset_register() failed, we should call kset_put to cleanup it.

Published: 2025-09-16 Last update: 2026-01-14 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-53278 is rated Low Risk (22.9/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.02%). 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-2023-53278

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-2023-53278

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-2023-53278

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-53278

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2023-53278 unimportant 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-2023-53278
redhat — — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53278
suse low CVE-2023-53278 severity low: SUSE including 26 source package names (cluster-md-kmp-default, dlm-kmp-default, …), 276 product×package rows across 54 product lines (SLES-LTSS-TERADATA 15 SP2, SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7, … (54 product lines)): Known Not Affected 276. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53278/
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-53278 medium priority: Ubuntu including 150 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1350 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 969, ignored 159, not-affected 142, released 80. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-53278

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-53278

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 5.17, < 6.1.18 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.2.5 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-53278

cvelogic Threat Intelligence