CVE-2023-53482 iommu: Fix error unwind in iommu_group_alloc()

Medium 5.5 Published Updated

A memory leak in the Linux kernel IOMMU subsystem can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service.

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-2023-53482?

CVE-2023-53482 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 Oct 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:

iommu: Fix error unwind in iommu_group_alloc()

If either iommu_group_grate_file() fails then the iommu_group is leaked.

Destroy it on these error paths.

Found by kselftest/iommu/iommufd_fail_nth

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53482?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2023-53482?

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-2023-53482 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53482 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53482, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53482, GHSA-fw52-phmw-fv93, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2023-53482, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53482.

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