CVE-2023-53241 nfsd: call op_release, even when op_func returns an error

What is CVE-2023-53241?

CVE-2023-53241 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:

nfsd: call op_release, even when op_func returns an error

For ops with "trivial" replies, nfsd4_encode_operation will shortcut most of the encoding work and skip to just marshalling up the status. One of the things it skips is calling op_release. This could cause a memory leak in the layoutget codepath if there is an error at an inopportune time.

Have the compound processing engine always call op_release, even when op_func sets an error in op->status. With this change, we also need nfsd4_block_get_device_info_scsi to set the gd_device pointer to NULL on error to avoid a double free.

Weakness: CWE-401

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53241?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2023-53241?

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-2023-53241 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53241 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53241, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53241, GHSA-8mj9-585g-24hv, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53241.