# CVE-2023-53614: mm/ksm: fix race with VMA iteration and mm_struct teardown

> A race condition in the Linux kernel's KSM module can lead to a system crash when memory mappings are torn down concurrently.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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:** 4 Oct 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53614, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53614, GHSA-m8wv-9hr6-j68w, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53614

## What is CVE-2023-53614?

CVE-2023-53614 is a medium-severity 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:

mm/ksm: fix race with VMA iteration and mm_struct teardown

exit_mmap() will tear down the VMAs and maple tree with the mmap_lock held
in write mode.  Ensure that the maple tree is still valid by checking
ksm_test_exit() after taking the mmap_lock in read mode, but before the
for_each_vma() iterator dereferences a destroyed maple tree.

Since the maple tree is destroyed, the flags telling lockdep to check an
external lock has been cleared.  Skip the for_each_vma() iterator to avoid
dereferencing a maple tree without the external lock flag, which would
create a lockdep warning.

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53614?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53614?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53614 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53614 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-2023-53614 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53614 is a medium-severity 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-2023-53614 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-2023-53614/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53614/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53614
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53614
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53614

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53614/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.