CVE-2023-53512 – CVE-2023-53512 is a memory leak vulnerability i... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-53512?

CVE-2023-53512 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). CVE-2023-53512 is a memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's mpt3sas SCSI driver. It allows attackers to cause denial of service by exhausting kernel memory through repeated triggering of the vulnerable code path. Systems using affected Linux kernel versions with the mpt3sas driver loaded are vulnerable.

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2023-53512 is a memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's mpt3sas SCSI driver. It allows attackers to cause denial of service by exhausting kernel memory through repeated triggering of the vulnerable code path. Systems using affected Linux kernel versions with the mpt3sas driver loaded are vulnerable.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel with mpt3sas driver

Versions: Specific affected kernel versions not explicitly stated in CVE, but patches exist for multiple stable branches

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using vulnerable kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ✅ No

Notes: Only vulnerable when mpt3sas driver is loaded and in use (typically with LSI SAS controllers). Many systems may not have this driver loaded by default.

📦 What is this software?

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Kernel memory exhaustion leading to system crash, denial of service, and potential system instability affecting all services.

🟠

Likely Case

Gradual memory consumption causing performance degradation and eventual system instability requiring reboot.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact with proper memory monitoring and restart policies in place.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires local access or ability to trigger specific SCSI operations.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Malicious local users or compromised services could exploit this to cause denial of service.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires ability to trigger the specific memory allocation path in the mpt3sas driver, typically through SCSI operations.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Multiple stable kernel versions with commit hashes provided in references

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/28137ea3eb05a87329a7154a8ff410d9e8bcc0a5

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to patched version from your distribution's repositories. 2. Reboot system to load new kernel. 3. Verify mpt3sas driver is updated.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Unload mpt3sas driver

linux

Remove the vulnerable driver if not needed

sudo rmmod mpt3sas

Blacklist mpt3sas driver

linux

Prevent driver from loading at boot

echo 'blacklist mpt3sas' | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-mpt3sas.conf

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Monitor kernel memory usage for abnormal consumption patterns
Implement system restart policies if memory exhaustion occurs

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if mpt3sas driver is loaded: lsmod | grep mpt3sas. If loaded, check kernel version against patched versions.

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version is updated and mpt3sas module shows correct version. Check dmesg for any memory leak warnings.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel OOM (Out of Memory) messages in dmesg
Increasing memory usage in /proc/meminfo
System performance degradation logs

Network Indicators:

None - this is a local vulnerability

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("Out of memory" OR "memory leak" OR "mpt3sas")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-53512

CVSS v3 Score: 5.5 (MEDIUM)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CWE: CWE-401

EPSS Score: 0.02% exploit probability (5.5th percentile)

Published: October 1, 2025

Last Updated: January 23, 2026

🔗 References

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