CVE-2023-53044 dm stats: check for and propagate alloc_percpu failure
A missing check for memory allocation failure in the Linux kernel device-mapper stats module can lead to a null pointer dereference and system crash.
- 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
What is CVE-2023-53044?
CVE-2023-53044 is a medium-severity 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:
dm stats: check for and propagate alloc_percpu failure
Check alloc_precpu()'s return value and return an error from dm_stats_init() if it fails. Update alloc_dev() to fail if dm_stats_init() does.
Otherwise, a NULL pointer dereference will occur in dm_stats_cleanup() even if dm-stats isn't being actively used.
Weakness: CWE-476
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53044?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2023-53044?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2023-53044 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53044 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53044, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53044, GHSA-332g-mj6w-rc2r, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53044.