CVE-2023-53665 | md: don't dereference mddev after export_rdev()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: md: don't dereference mddev after export_rdev() Except for initial reference, mddev->kobject is referenced by rdev->kobject, and if the last rdev is freed, there is no guarantee that mddev is still valid. Hence mddev should not be used anymore after export_rdev(). This problem can be triggered by following test for mdadm at very low rate: New file: mdadm/tests/23rdev-lifetime devname=${dev0##*/} devt=`cat /sys/block/$devname/dev` pid="" runtime=2 clean_up_test() { pill -9 $pid echo clear > /sys/block/md0/md/array_state } trap 'clean_up_test' EXIT add_by_sysfs() { while true; do echo $devt > /sys/block/md0/md/new_dev done } remove_by_sysfs(){ while true; do echo remove > /sys/block/md0/md/dev-${devname}/state done } echo md0 > /sys/module/md_mod/parameters/new_array || die "create md0 failed" add_by_sysfs & pid="$pid $!" remove_by_sysfs & pid="$pid $!" sleep $runtime exit 0 Test cmd: ./test --save-logs --logdir=/tmp/ --keep-going --dev=loop --tests=23rdev-lifetime Test result: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0x6b6b6b6b6b6b6bcb: 0000 [#4] PREEMPT SMP CPU: 0 PID: 1292 Comm: test Tainted: G D W 6.5.0-rc2-00121-g01e55c376936 #562 RIP: 0010:md_wakeup_thread+0x9e/0x320 [md_mod] Call Trace: <TASK> mddev_unlock+0x1b6/0x310 [md_mod] rdev_attr_store+0xec/0x190 [md_mod] sysfs_kf_write+0x52/0x70 kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x19a/0x2a0 vfs_write+0x3b5/0x770 ksys_write+0x74/0x150 __x64_sys_write+0x22/0x30 do_syscall_64+0x40/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd Fix this problem by don't dereference mddev after export_rdev().

Published: 2025-10-07 Last update: 2026-02-26 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-53665 is rated Low Risk (23.2/100): 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-2023-53665

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 2025-10-08 0.02%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-53665

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]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-53665

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-53665

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2023-53665 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-2023-53665
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53665
suse medium CVE-2023-53665 severity moderate: SUSE including 431 source package names (2.1.3-6.88:kernel-default-base-6.4.0-36.1.21.13, 2.1.3-7.105:kernel-rt-6.4.0-38.1, …), 909 product×package rows across 183 product lines (Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container, Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/kvm-os-container, … (183 product lines)): Fixed 471, Known Affected 231, Known Not Affected 207. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53665/
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-53665 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-2023-53665

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-53665

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 6.5, < 6.5.5 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.6 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-53665

cvelogic Threat Intelligence