Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nilfs2: fix sysfs interface...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
nilfs2: fix sysfs interface lifetime
The current nilfs2 sysfs support has issues with the timing of creation
and deletion of sysfs entries, potentially leading to null pointer
dereferences, use-after-free, and lockdep warnings.
Some of the sysfs attributes for nilfs2 per-filesystem instance refer to
metadata file "cpfile", "sufile", or "dat", but
nilfs_sysfs_create_device_group that creates those attributes is executed
before the inodes for these metadata files are loaded, and
nilfs_sysfs_delete_device_group which deletes these sysfs entries is
called after releasing their metadata file inodes.
Therefore, access to some of these sysfs attributes may occur outside of
the lifetime of these metadata files, resulting in inode NULL pointer
dereferences or use-after-free.
In addition, the call to nilfs_sysfs_create_device_group() is made during
the locking period of the semaphore "ns_sem" of nilfs object, so the
shrinker call caused by the memory allocation for the sysfs entries, may
derive lock dependencies "ns_sem" -> (shrinker) -> "locks acquired in
nilfs_evict_inode()".
Since nilfs2 may acquire "ns_sem" deep in the call stack holding other
locks via its error handler __nilfs_error(), this causes lockdep to report
circular locking. This is a false positive and no circular locking
actually occurs as no inodes exist yet when
nilfs_sysfs_create_device_group() is called. Fortunately, the lockdep
warnings can be resolved by simply moving the call to
nilfs_sysfs_create_device_group() out of "ns_sem".
This fixes these sysfs issues by revising where the device's sysfs
interface is created/deleted and keeping its lifetime within the lifetime
of the metadata files above.
Impact
The application dereferences a null pointer, causing a crash. Typical impact: denial of service via crash.
CVE-2023-53440 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-53440? CVE-2023-53440 is a medium-severity null pointer dereference vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet. The application dereferences a null pointer, causing a crash.
- How severe is CVE-2023-53440? CVE-2023-53440 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-53440? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2023-53440 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2023-53440 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-53440 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2023-53440 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.