# CVE-2023-53485: fs: jfs: Fix UBSAN: array-index-out-of-bounds in dbAllocDmapLev

> A local attacker can trigger an out-of-bounds array index in the JFS filesystem, causing a kernel crash and denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 1 Oct 2025
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53485, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53485, GHSA-hvxw-2j3f-v3hp, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53485

## What is CVE-2023-53485?

CVE-2023-53485 is a high-severity 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:

fs: jfs: Fix UBSAN: array-index-out-of-bounds in dbAllocDmapLev

Syzkaller reported the following issue:

UBSAN: array-index-out-of-bounds in fs/jfs/jfs_dmap.c:1965:6
index -84 is out of range for type 's8[341]' (aka 'signed char[341]')
CPU: 1 PID: 4995 Comm: syz-executor146 Not tainted 6.4.0-rc6-syzkaller-00037-gb6dad5178cea #0
Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 05/27/2023
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline]
 dump_stack_lvl+0x1e7/0x2d0 lib/dump_stack.c:106
 ubsan_epilogue lib/ubsan.c:217 [inline]
 __ubsan_handle_out_of_bounds+0x11c/0x150 lib/ubsan.c:348
 dbAllocDmapLev+0x3e5/0x430 fs/jfs/jfs_dmap.c:1965
 dbAllocCtl+0x113/0x920 fs/jfs/jfs_dmap.c:1809
 dbAllocAG+0x28f/0x10b0 fs/jfs/jfs_dmap.c:1350
 dbAlloc+0x658/0xca0 fs/jfs/jfs_dmap.c:874
 dtSplitUp fs/jfs/jfs_dtree.c:974 [inline]
 dtInsert+0xda7/0x6b00 fs/jfs/jfs_dtree.c:863
 jfs_create+0x7b6/0xbb0 fs/jfs/namei.c:137
 lookup_open fs/namei.c:3492 [inline]
 open_last_lookups fs/namei.c:3560 [inline]
 path_openat+0x13df/0x3170 fs/namei.c:3788
 do_filp_open+0x234/0x490 fs/namei.c:3818
 do_sys_openat2+0x13f/0x500 fs/open.c:1356
 do_sys_open fs/open.c:1372 [inline]
 __do_sys_openat fs/open.c:1388 [inline]
 __se_sys_openat fs/open.c:1383 [inline]
 __x64_sys_openat+0x247/0x290 fs/open.c:1383
 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
 do_syscall_64+0x41/0xc0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd
RIP: 0033:0x7f1f4e33f7e9
Code: 28 00 00 00 75 05 48 83 c4 28 c3 e8 51 14 00 00 90 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 c7 c1 c0 ff ff ff f7 d8 64 89 01 48
RSP: 002b:00007ffc21129578 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000101
RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 00007f1f4e33f7e9
RDX: 000000000000275a RSI: 0000000020000040 RDI: 00000000ffffff9c
RBP: 00007f1f4e2ff080 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000
R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 00007f1f4e2ff110
R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000000
 </TASK>

The bug occurs when the dbAllocDmapLev()function attempts to access
dp->tree.stree[leafidx + LEAFIND] while the leafidx value is negative.

To rectify this, the patch introduces a safeguard within the
dbAllocDmapLev() function. A check has been added to verify if leafidx is
negative. If it is, the function immediately returns an I/O error, preventing
any further execution that could potentially cause harm.

Tested via syzbot.

Weakness: CWE-129 (Improper Validation of Array Index)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53485?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53485?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53485 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53485 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-2023-53485 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53485 is a high-severity 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53485 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-2023-53485/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53485/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53485
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53485
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53485

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53485/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.