# CVE-2023-53552: drm/i915: mark requests for GuC virtual engines to avoid use-after-free

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's i915 driver allows local attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges.

- **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:** 4 Oct 2025
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53552, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53552, GHSA-j4wq-v2m2-959h, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53552

## What is CVE-2023-53552?

CVE-2023-53552 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 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:

drm/i915: mark requests for GuC virtual engines to avoid use-after-free

References to i915_requests may be trapped by userspace inside a
sync_file or dmabuf (dma-resv) and held indefinitely across different
proceses. To counter-act the memory leaks, we try to not to keep
references from the request past their completion.
On the other side on fence release we need to know if rq->engine
is valid and points to hw engine (true for non-virtual requests).
To make it possible extra bit has been added to rq->execution_mask,
for marking virtual engines.

(cherry picked from commit 280410677af763f3871b93e794a199cfcf6fb580)

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53552?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53552?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53552 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53552 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-2023-53552 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53552 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 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-2023-53552 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-2023-53552/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53552/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53552
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53552
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53552

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53552/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.