# CVE-2023-53396: ubifs: Fix memory leak in do_rename

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel's UBIFS filesystem allows attackers to exhaust system memory by renaming 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:** 18 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 23 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53396, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53396, GHSA-427x-59vx-vjwq, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53396

## What is CVE-2023-53396?

CVE-2023-53396 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 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: Fix memory leak in do_rename

If renaming a file in an encrypted directory, function
fscrypt_setup_filename allocates memory for a file name. This name is
never used, and before returning to the caller the memory for it 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 'rename' that renames a
file in an encrypted directory:

  unreferenced object 0xffff888101502840 (size 32):
    comm "rename", pid 9404, jiffies 4302582475 (age 435.735s)
    backtrace:
      __kmem_cache_alloc_node
      __kmalloc
      fscrypt_setup_filename
      do_rename
      ubifs_rename
      vfs_rename
      do_renameat2

To fix this we can remove the call to fscrypt_setup_filename as it's not
needed.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53396?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53396?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53396 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53396 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-2023-53396 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53396 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 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-2023-53396 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-2023-53396/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53396/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53396
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53396
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53396

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53396/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.