# CVE-2023-53260: ovl: fix null pointer dereference in ovl_permission()

> A race condition in the Linux kernel's overlayfs can cause a null pointer dereference, leading to a system crash.

- **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-2023-53260, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53260, GHSA-mvvw-5ww4-3hgm, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53260

## What is CVE-2023-53260?

CVE-2023-53260 is a medium-severity 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:

ovl: fix null pointer dereference in ovl_permission()

Following process:
          P1                     P2
 path_lookupat
  link_path_walk
   inode_permission
    ovl_permission
      ovl_i_path_real(inode, &realpath)
        path->dentry = ovl_i_dentry_upper(inode)
                          drop_cache
			   __dentry_kill(ovl_dentry)
		            iput(ovl_inode)
		             ovl_destroy_inode(ovl_inode)
		              dput(oi->__upperdentry)
		               dentry_kill(upperdentry)
		                dentry_unlink_inode
				 upperdentry->d_inode = NULL
      realinode = d_inode(realpath.dentry) // return NULL
      inode_permission(realinode)
       inode->i_sb  // NULL pointer dereference
, will trigger an null pointer dereference at realinode:
  [  335.664979] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference,
                 address: 0000000000000002
  [  335.668032] CPU: 0 PID: 2592 Comm: ls Not tainted 6.3.0
  [  335.669956] RIP: 0010:inode_permission+0x33/0x2c0
  [  335.678939] Call Trace:
  [  335.679165]  <TASK>
  [  335.679371]  ovl_permission+0xde/0x320
  [  335.679723]  inode_permission+0x15e/0x2c0
  [  335.680090]  link_path_walk+0x115/0x550
  [  335.680771]  path_lookupat.isra.0+0xb2/0x200
  [  335.681170]  filename_lookup+0xda/0x240
  [  335.681922]  vfs_statx+0xa6/0x1f0
  [  335.682233]  vfs_fstatat+0x7b/0xb0

Fetch a reproducer in [Link].

Use the helper ovl_i_path_realinode() to get realinode and then do
non-nullptr checking.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53260?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53260?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53260 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53260 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-2023-53260 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53260 is a medium-severity 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-2023-53260 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-2023-53260/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53260/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53260
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53260
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53260

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53260/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.