In the Linux kernel, a medium-severity vulnerability has been identified, which allows for a memory leak in the ACPI buffer's pointer. The vulnerability, designated as CVE-2023-53261, has been classified with a CVSS score of 5.5, indicating a medium level of risk. This vulnerability allows attackers to exploit the memory leak, which can lead to potential service disruptions.
Risk to organizations includes the unavailability of critical services due to memory leaks that could lead to resource exhaustion. The potential impact, including system downtime, necessitates immediate attention from system administrators and security teams.
Currently, there are no known exploits in the wild for this vulnerability. However, organizations should prioritize patching immediately to mitigate any potential risks associated with this vulnerability.
The vulnerability was published on September 15, 2025, and has been modified as of January 14, 2026. Organizations using affected versions of the Linux kernel should take action promptly to ensure their systems remain secure.
Vulnerability Details
The CVE-2023-53261 vulnerability is characterized by memory leaks reported by kmemleak in the Linux kernel's ACPI buffer. Specifically, the leak occurs due to improper management of memory within the acpi_buffer structure, leading to unreferenced objects persisting in memory. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-401 category, indicating a memory leak.
The CVSS score of 5.5 reflects a local attack vector, low attack complexity, low privileges required, and no user interaction necessary, with a significant impact on availability. Organizations are advised to patch affected installations to prevent possible service interruptions.
Technical Analysis
The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the oversight of memory management in the Linux kernel. The ACPI buffer memory should ideally be freed after its use, but it remains allocated and is accessed later in the process, which leads to memory being inaccessible for reuse.
The attack vector for this vulnerability is local, meaning that an attacker must have access to the system to exploit the memory leak. The attack complexity is low, as no specialized skills are necessary beyond having local access to the system.
The impact on availability is high, as the memory leak can lead to resource exhaustion, causing the system to become unresponsive or crash. There are no confidentiality or integrity impacts associated with this vulnerability.
Risk & Impact Analysis
Organizations that rely on the Linux kernel for critical operations face significant risks due to this vulnerability. The potential for service disruption due to a memory leak can affect user experience, operational efficiency, and overall service reliability.
Given the medium severity score and potential availability impact, organizations should address this issue in their priority patch cycle. The urgency for remediation is underscored by the possibility of service interruptions.
Exploitation Status
Signal | Status |
|---|---|
Known Exploit | No |
Public PoC | No |
Actively Exploited | No |
Ransomware Use | No |
Affected Versions
The vulnerability affects all versions of the Linux kernel from 5.3 up until, but not including, 6.5.3.
Mitigation & Remediation
Organizations should prioritize patching their systems to the latest version of the Linux kernel, specifically version 6.5.3 or later, to remediate this vulnerability. If a patch is not immediately available, consider implementing configuration hardening to minimize exposure to this vulnerability.
For more information on effective security practices, organizations can utilize resources such as penetration testing to assess their current security posture.
Detection Guidance
Organizations should monitor their systems for memory allocation errors and track any unusual behavior that may indicate memory leaks. Log indicators from the kernel and relevant system services, such as systemd, should be reviewed regularly.
AppSecure Threat Intelligence Insight
The long-term significance of CVE-2023-53261 is notable as it highlights the ongoing challenges in memory management in kernel development. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the importance of rigorous memory management practices in software development.
Security teams should take this opportunity to review their memory management processes, utilizing tools and practices that promote better memory handling and leak prevention. For further insights into effective risk management, organizations can explore our vulnerability management program and consider implementing a comprehensive security strategy.
Additionally, reviewing the penetration testing methodology can enhance security measures against similar vulnerabilities in the future.
Finally, organizations are encouraged to stay informed about vulnerabilities and security trends by following our vulnerability exposure severity trends to proactively manage their security landscape.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
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