# CVE-2023-53791: md: fix warning for holder mismatch from export_rdev()

> A race condition in the Linux kernel MD subsystem can cause a kernel warning and potential denial of service when manipulating block devices.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **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:** 9 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53791, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53791, GHSA-vw78-rr2v-h52q, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2023-53791, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53791

## What is CVE-2023-53791?

CVE-2023-53791 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 9 Dec 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: fix warning for holder mismatch from export_rdev()

Commit a1d767191096 ("md: use mddev->external to select holder in
export_rdev()") fix the problem that 'claim_rdev' is used for
blkdev_get_by_dev() while 'rdev' is used for blkdev_put().

However, if mddev->external is changed from 0 to 1, then 'rdev' is used
for blkdev_get_by_dev() while 'claim_rdev' is used for blkdev_put(). And
this problem can be reporduced reliably by following:

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:

------------[ cut here ]------------
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 960 at block/bdev.c:618 blkdev_put+0x27c/0x330
Modules linked in: multipath md_mod loop
CPU: 0 PID: 960 Comm: test Not tainted 6.5.0-rc2-00121-g01e55c376936-dirty #50
RIP: 0010:blkdev_put+0x27c/0x330
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 export_rdev.isra.23+0x50/0xa0 [md_mod]
 mddev_unlock+0x19d/0x300 [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 the problem by recording if 'rdev' is used as holder.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53791?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-53791?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53791 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53791 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-53791 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53791 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 9 Dec 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-2023-53791 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2023-53791/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53791/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53791
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53791
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53791

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53791/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.