CVE-2023-53687
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a memory leak vulnerability in the Samsung TTY serial driver of the Linux kernel. When searching for the best clock source, the driver fails to properly free previous clock references, causing kernel memory exhaustion over time. This affects Linux systems using Samsung serial hardware or specific ARM-based devices.
💻 Affected Systems
- Linux kernel with Samsung TTY serial driver enabled
📦 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 →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
Continuous exploitation could lead to kernel memory exhaustion, causing system instability, denial of service, or potential kernel panic/crash.
Likely Case
Gradual memory leak leading to performance degradation and eventual system instability requiring reboot.
If Mitigated
With proper monitoring and memory limits, impact is limited to performance issues before detection and remediation.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires triggering the specific code path in s3c24xx_serial_getclk() function, typically through serial port operations.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Fixed in kernel commits: 01dd8a43a84616c830782166ba3cceb01ad95363, 1962717c4649e026a4252fe6625175affd28a593, 1f426293fef1c13742b2a685bf7e363f51f6ee03, 46574e5a0a2aee41e6ebb979cfe1dbaea8693e16, 832e231cff476102e8204a9e7bddfe5c6154a375
Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update Linux kernel to version containing the fix commits. 2. For distributions: Use package manager (apt/yum/dnf) to update kernel package. 3. Reboot system to load new kernel.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Samsung serial driver
linuxRemove or disable the vulnerable driver module if not needed
sudo rmmod s3c24xx_serial
echo 'blacklist s3c24xx_serial' | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-samsung-serial.conf
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Monitor kernel memory usage (cat /proc/meminfo, watch slabinfo) for unusual growth
- Restrict access to serial devices (/dev/ttyS*) to prevent triggering the vulnerable code path
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if Samsung serial driver is loaded: lsmod | grep s3c24xx_serial AND check kernel version against patched versionsCheck Version:
uname -rVerify Fix Applied:
Verify kernel version includes fix commits: grep -i 's3c24xx_serial' /proc/version OR check kernel source for the fix📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Kernel oops messages
- Out of memory errors in dmesg
- Increasing slab memory usage in system logs
Network Indicators:
- None - local vulnerability only
SIEM Query:
source="kernel" AND ("out of memory" OR "slab" OR "s3c24xx")🔗 References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/01dd8a43a84616c830782166ba3cceb01ad95363
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1962717c4649e026a4252fe6625175affd28a593
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1f426293fef1c13742b2a685bf7e363f51f6ee03
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/46574e5a0a2aee41e6ebb979cfe1dbaea8693e16
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/832e231cff476102e8204a9e7bddfe5c6154a375
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/933e5b2998bc3a527d15efbf1e97c9e63297aa3c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9dd8091959bc41fee51d0827276a2b982e84adf0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f0bf102ef9b05d7294bd8d506755465f6867d944
