# CVE-2023-53276: ubifs: Free memory for tmpfile name

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel UBIFS filesystem allows attackers to exhaust system memory by creating temporary files in encrypted directories.

- **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:** 16 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53276, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53276, GHSA-jfrm-9rr7-r45w, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53276

## What is CVE-2023-53276?

CVE-2023-53276 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 16 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:

ubifs: Free memory for tmpfile name

When opening a ubifs tmpfile on an encrypted directory, function
fscrypt_setup_filename allocates memory for the name that is to be
stored in the directory entry, but after the name has been copied to the
directory entry inode, the memory is not freed.

When running kmemleak on it we see that it is registered as a leak. The
report below is triggered by a simple program 'tmpfile' just opening a
tmpfile:

  unreferenced object 0xffff88810178f380 (size 32):
    comm "tmpfile", pid 509, jiffies 4294934744 (age 1524.742s)
    backtrace:
      __kmem_cache_alloc_node
      __kmalloc
      fscrypt_setup_filename
      ubifs_tmpfile
      vfs_tmpfile
      path_openat

Free this memory after it has been copied to the inode.

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53276?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53276?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53276 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53276 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-2023-53276 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53276 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 16 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-2023-53276 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-2023-53276/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53276/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53276
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53276
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53276

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53276/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.