CVE-2023-53184 arm64/sme: Set new vector length before reallocating
A memory corruption vulnerability in the Linux kernel's arm64 SME implementation allows attackers to potentially execute code or escalate privileges due to an undersized buffer allocation.
- 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-2023-53184?
CVE-2023-53184 is a high-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:
arm64/sme: Set new vector length before reallocating
As part of fixing the allocation of the buffer for SVE state when changing SME vector length we introduced an immediate reallocation of the SVE state, this is also done when changing the SVE vector length for consistency. Unfortunately this reallocation is done prior to writing the new vector length to the task struct, meaning the allocation is done with the old vector length and can lead to memory corruption due to an undersized buffer being used.
Move the update of the vector length before the allocation to ensure that the new vector length is taken into account.
For some reason this isn't triggering any problems when running tests on the arm64 fixes branch (even after repeated tries) but is triggering issues very often after merge into mainline.
Weakness: CWE-787
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53184?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2023-53184?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2023-53184 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53184 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53184, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53184, GHSA-hx38-rpx2-8wv8, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53184.