CVE-2023-53484 | lib: cpu_rmap: Avoid use after free on rmap->obj array entries

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: lib: cpu_rmap: Avoid use after free on rmap->obj array entries When calling irq_set_affinity_notifier() with NULL at the notify argument, it will cause freeing of the glue pointer in the corresponding array entry but will leave the pointer in the array. A subsequent call to free_irq_cpu_rmap() will try to free this entry again leading to possible use after free. Fix that by setting NULL to the array entry and checking that we have non-zero at the array entry when iterating over the array in free_irq_cpu_rmap(). The current code does not suffer from this since there are no cases where irq_set_affinity_notifier(irq, NULL) (note the NULL passed for the notify arg) is called, followed by a call to free_irq_cpu_rmap() so we don't hit and issue. Subsequent patches in this series excersize this flow, hence the required fix.

Published: 2025-10-01 Last update: 2026-01-20 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-53484 is rated Low Risk (33.1/100): CVSS High 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-2023-53484

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 2025-10-01 0.02%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-53484

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

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]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-53484

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-53484

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-53484 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-2023-53484
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53484
suse medium CVE-2023-53484 severity moderate: SUSE including 271 source package names (amazon/suse-sles-15-sp1-chost-byos-v20210304-hvm-ssd-x86_64, amazon/suse-sles-15-sp1-chost-byos-v20220127-hvm-ssd-x86_64, …), 419 product×package rows across 42 product lines (Image SLES12-SP5-Azure-BYOS, Image SLES12-SP5-Azure-HPC-BYOS, … (42 product lines)): Known Affected 231, Known Not Affected 111, Fixed 77. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53484/
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-53484 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 162, released 138, not-affected 76, needed 20, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-53484

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-53484

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 3.8.1, < 4.14.316 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.15, < 4.19.284 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.20, < 5.4.244 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.5, < 5.10.181 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.113 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.30 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.3.4 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 3.8 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:3.8:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 3.8 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:3.8:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 3.8 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:3.8:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 3.8 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:3.8:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 3.8 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:3.8:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-53484

cvelogic Threat Intelligence