# CVE-2023-53181: dma-buf/dma-resv: Stop leaking on krealloc() failure

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel's dma-resv subsystem can lead to resource exhaustion or potential use-after-free issues if krealloc fails.

- **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-2023-53181, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53181, GHSA-pjxh-qq38-qww3, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53181

## What is CVE-2023-53181?

CVE-2023-53181 is a medium-severity memory corruption 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:

dma-buf/dma-resv: Stop leaking on krealloc() failure

Currently dma_resv_get_fences() will leak the previously
allocated array if the fence iteration got restarted and
the krealloc_array() fails.

Free the old array by hand, and make sure we still clear
the returned *fences so the caller won't end up accessing
freed memory. Some (but not all) of the callers of
dma_resv_get_fences() seem to still trawl through the
array even when dma_resv_get_fences() failed. And let's
zero out *num_fences as well for good measure.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53181?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53181?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53181 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53181 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-2023-53181 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53181 is a medium-severity memory corruption 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-2023-53181 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-2023-53181/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53181/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53181
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53181
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53181

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53181/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.