CVE-2023-53136

What it is

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: af_unix: fix struct pid leaks in OOB support syzbot reported struct pid leak [1]. Issue is that queue_oob() calls maybe_add_creds() which potentially holds a reference on a pid. But skb->destructor is not set (either directly or by calling unix_scm_to_skb()) This means that subsequent kfree_skb() or consume_skb() would leak this reference. In this fix, I chose to fully support scm even for the OOB message. [1] BUG: memory leak unreferenced object 0xffff8881053e7f80 (size 128): comm "syz-executor242", pid 5066, jiffies 4294946079 (age 13.220s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ backtrace: [<ffffffff812ae26a>] alloc_pid+0x6a/0x560 kernel/pid.c:180 [<ffffffff812718df>] copy_process+0x169f/0x26c0 kernel/fork.c:2285 [<ffffffff81272b37>] kernel_clone+0xf7/0x610 kernel/fork.c:2684 [<ffffffff812730cc>] __do_sys_clone+0x7c/0xb0 kernel/fork.c:2825 [<ffffffff849ad699>] do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline] [<ffffffff849ad699>] do_syscall_64+0x39/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80 [<ffffffff84a0008b>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited locally on the machine with a low-privilege account. High risk of data exposure, service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2025-05-02 16:15 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-06-17 06:44 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Details

Published

2025-05-02 16:15 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-17 06:44 UTC

Exploit probability

0.2% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-125 · Out-of-bounds read

Record status

Analyzed

Affected

• Linux Kernel < 5.15.103
• Linux Kernel < 6.1.20
• Linux Kernel < 6.2.7
• Linux Kernel 6.3

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 7.1

Attack vector

Local

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

None

Availability

High