# CVE-2023-53665: md: don't dereference mddev after export_rdev()

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's md driver allows local attackers to cause a system crash by triggering a race condition during device removal.

- **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:** 7 Oct 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53665, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53665, GHSA-3wc5-j3q5-m2xc, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53665

## What is CVE-2023-53665?

CVE-2023-53665 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 7 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:

md: don't dereference mddev after export_rdev()

Except for initial reference, mddev->kobject is referenced by
rdev->kobject, and if the last rdev is freed, there is no guarantee that
mddev is still valid. Hence mddev should not be used anymore after
export_rdev().

This problem can be triggered by following test for mdadm at very
low rate:

New file: mdadm/tests/23rdev-lifetime

devname=${dev0##*/}
devt=`cat /sys/block/$devname/dev`
pid=""
runtime=2

clean_up_test() {
        pill -9 $pid
        echo clear > /sys/block/md0/md/array_state
}

trap 'clean_up_test' EXIT

add_by_sysfs() {
        while true; do
                echo $devt > /sys/block/md0/md/new_dev
        done
}

remove_by_sysfs(){
        while true; do
                echo remove > /sys/block/md0/md/dev-${devname}/state
        done
}

echo md0 > /sys/module/md_mod/parameters/new_array || die "create md0 failed"

add_by_sysfs &
pid="$pid $!"

remove_by_sysfs &
pid="$pid $!"

sleep $runtime
exit 0

Test cmd:

./test --save-logs --logdir=/tmp/ --keep-going --dev=loop --tests=23rdev-lifetime

Test result:

general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0x6b6b6b6b6b6b6bcb: 0000 [#4] PREEMPT SMP
CPU: 0 PID: 1292 Comm: test Tainted: G      D W          6.5.0-rc2-00121-g01e55c376936 #562
RIP: 0010:md_wakeup_thread+0x9e/0x320 [md_mod]
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 mddev_unlock+0x1b6/0x310 [md_mod]
 rdev_attr_store+0xec/0x190 [md_mod]
 sysfs_kf_write+0x52/0x70
 kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x19a/0x2a0
 vfs_write+0x3b5/0x770
 ksys_write+0x74/0x150
 __x64_sys_write+0x22/0x30
 do_syscall_64+0x40/0x90
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

Fix this problem by don't dereference mddev after export_rdev().

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53665?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53665?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53665 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53665 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-2023-53665 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53665 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 7 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-2023-53665 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-2023-53665/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53665/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53665
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53665
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53665

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53665/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.