CVE-2023-53272

What it is

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ena: fix shift-out-of-bounds in exponential backoff The ENA adapters on our instances occasionally reset. Once recently logged a UBSAN failure to console in the process: UBSAN: shift-out-of-bounds in build/linux/drivers/net/ethernet/amazon/ena/ena_com.c:540:13 shift exponent 32 is too large for 32-bit type 'unsigned int' CPU: 28 PID: 70012 Comm: kworker/u72:2 Kdump: loaded not tainted 5.15.117 Hardware name: Amazon EC2 c5d.9xlarge/, BIOS 1.0 10/16/2017 Workqueue: ena ena_fw_reset_device [ena] Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x4a/0x63 dump_stack+0x10/0x16 ubsan_epilogue+0x9/0x36 __ubsan_handle_shift_out_of_bounds.cold+0x61/0x10e ? __const_udelay+0x43/0x50 ena_delay_exponential_backoff_us.cold+0x16/0x1e [ena] wait_for_reset_state+0x54/0xa0 [ena] ena_com_dev_reset+0xc8/0x110 [ena] ena_down+0x3fe/0x480 [ena] ena_destroy_device+0xeb/0xf0 [ena] ena_fw_reset_device+0x30/0x50 [ena] process_one_work+0x22b/0x3d0 worker_thread+0x4d/0x3f0 ? process_one_work+0x3d0/0x3d0 kthread+0x12a/0x150 ? set_kthread_struct+0x50/0x50 ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 </TASK> Apparently, the reset delays are getting so large they can trigger a UBSAN panic. Looking at the code, the current timeout is capped at 5000us. Using a base value of 100us, the current code will overflow after (1<<29). Even at values before 32, this function wraps around, perhaps unintentionally. Cap the value of the exponent used for this backoff at (1<<16) which is larger than currently necessary, but large enough to support bigger values in the future.

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. 2025-09-16 08:15 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-06-17 06:44 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.2% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 7.1 HIGH (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2025-09-16 08:15 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

Modified

Affected

• Linux Kernel < 5.10.188
• Linux Kernel < 5.15.121
• Linux Kernel < 6.1.40
• Linux Kernel < 6.4.5
• Linux Kernel 6.5

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

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2023-53272.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2023-53272. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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