# CVE-2023-53169: x86/resctrl: Clear staged_config[] before and after it is used

> A local attacker can trigger a kernel crash by creating specific resource control groups, causing a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 15 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53169, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53169, GHSA-62m8-gj6w-jrp4, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53169

## What is CVE-2023-53169?

CVE-2023-53169 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 15 Sep 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:

x86/resctrl: Clear staged_config[] before and after it is used

As a temporary storage, staged_config[] in rdt_domain should be cleared
before and after it is used. The stale value in staged_config[] could
cause an MSR access error.

Here is a reproducer on a system with 16 usable CLOSIDs for a 15-way L3
Cache (MBA should be disabled if the number of CLOSIDs for MB is less than
16.) :
	mount -t resctrl resctrl -o cdp /sys/fs/resctrl
	mkdir /sys/fs/resctrl/p{1..7}
	umount /sys/fs/resctrl/
	mount -t resctrl resctrl /sys/fs/resctrl
	mkdir /sys/fs/resctrl/p{1..8}

An error occurs when creating resource group named p8:
    unchecked MSR access error: WRMSR to 0xca0 (tried to write 0x00000000000007ff) at rIP: 0xffffffff82249142 (cat_wrmsr+0x32/0x60)
    Call Trace:
     <IRQ>
     __flush_smp_call_function_queue+0x11d/0x170
     __sysvec_call_function+0x24/0xd0
     sysvec_call_function+0x89/0xc0
     </IRQ>
     <TASK>
     asm_sysvec_call_function+0x16/0x20

When creating a new resource control group, hardware will be configured
by the following process:
    rdtgroup_mkdir()
      rdtgroup_mkdir_ctrl_mon()
        rdtgroup_init_alloc()
          resctrl_arch_update_domains()

resctrl_arch_update_domains() iterates and updates all resctrl_conf_type
whose have_new_ctrl is true. Since staged_config[] holds the same values as
when CDP was enabled, it will continue to update the CDP_CODE and CDP_DATA
configurations. When group p8 is created, get_config_index() called in
resctrl_arch_update_domains() will return 16 and 17 as the CLOSIDs for
CDP_CODE and CDP_DATA, which will be translated to an invalid register -
0xca0 in this scenario.

Fix it by clearing staged_config[] before and after it is used.

[reinette: re-order commit tags]

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53169?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53169?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53169 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53169 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-2023-53169 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53169 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 15 Sep 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-2023-53169 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-2023-53169/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53169/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53169
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53169
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53169

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53169/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.