# CVE-2023-53037: scsi: mpi3mr: Bad drive in topology results kernel crash

> A use-after-free in the mpi3mr driver causes a kernel crash when a bad drive fails INQUIRY commands, requiring SAS Transport Layer support.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 2 May 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-70120, BELL-CVE-2023-53037, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53037, GHSA-2px8-v868-2g2q, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2023-53037, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53037

## What is CVE-2023-53037?

CVE-2023-53037 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 2 May 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

scsi: mpi3mr: Bad drive in topology results kernel crash

When the SAS Transport Layer support is enabled and a device exposed to
the OS by the driver fails INQUIRY commands, the driver frees up the memory
allocated for an internal HBA port data structure. However, in some places,
the reference to the freed memory is not cleared. When the firmware sends
the Device Info change event for the same device again, the freed memory is
accessed and that leads to memory corruption and OS crash.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53037?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53037?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53037 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53037 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-53037 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53037 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 2 May 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53037 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53037/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53037/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53037
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53037
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53037

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53037/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.