# CVE-2023-53090: drm/amdkfd: Fix an illegal memory access

> A local attacker can trigger a system crash in the Linux kernel by causing an uninitialized memory access during event waiting.

- **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:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53090, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53090, GHSA-7qxw-9g76-vh4q, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53090

## What is CVE-2023-53090?

CVE-2023-53090 is a high-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:

drm/amdkfd: Fix an illegal memory access

In the kfd_wait_on_events() function, the kfd_event_waiter structure is
allocated by alloc_event_waiters(), but the event field of the waiter
structure is not initialized; When copy_from_user() fails in the
kfd_wait_on_events() function, it will enter exception handling to
release the previously allocated memory of the waiter structure;
Due to the event field of the waiters structure being accessed
in the free_waiters() function, this results in illegal memory access
and system crash, here is the crash log:

localhost kernel: RIP: 0010:native_queued_spin_lock_slowpath+0x185/0x1e0
localhost kernel: RSP: 0018:ffffaa53c362bd60 EFLAGS: 00010082
localhost kernel: RAX: ff3d3d6bff4007cb RBX: 0000000000000282 RCX: 00000000002c0000
localhost kernel: RDX: ffff9e855eeacb80 RSI: 000000000000279c RDI: ffffe7088f6a21d0
localhost kernel: RBP: ffffe7088f6a21d0 R08: 00000000002c0000 R09: ffffaa53c362be64
localhost kernel: R10: ffffaa53c362bbd8 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: 0000000000000002
localhost kernel: R13: ffff9e7ead15d600 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: ffff9e7ead15d698
localhost kernel: FS:  0000152a3d111700(0000) GS:ffff9e855ee80000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
localhost kernel: CS:  0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
localhost kernel: CR2: 0000152938000010 CR3: 000000044d7a4000 CR4: 00000000003506e0
localhost kernel: Call Trace:
localhost kernel: _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x30/0x40
localhost kernel: remove_wait_queue+0x12/0x50
localhost kernel: kfd_wait_on_events+0x1b6/0x490 [hydcu]
localhost kernel: ? ftrace_graph_caller+0xa0/0xa0
localhost kernel: kfd_ioctl+0x38c/0x4a0 [hydcu]
localhost kernel: ? kfd_ioctl_set_trap_handler+0x70/0x70 [hydcu]
localhost kernel: ? kfd_ioctl_create_queue+0x5a0/0x5a0 [hydcu]
localhost kernel: ? ftrace_graph_caller+0xa0/0xa0
localhost kernel: __x64_sys_ioctl+0x8e/0xd0
localhost kernel: ? syscall_trace_enter.isra.18+0x143/0x1b0
localhost kernel: do_syscall_64+0x33/0x80
localhost kernel: entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xa9
localhost kernel: RIP: 0033:0x152a4dff68d7

Allocate the structure with kcalloc, and remove redundant 0-initialization
and a redundant loop condition check.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53090?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53090?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53090 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53090 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-2023-53090 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53090 is a high-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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53090 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-2023-53090/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53090/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53090
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53090
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53090

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53090/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.