# CVE-2023-53813: ext4: fix rbtree traversal bug in ext4_mb_use_preallocated

> A race condition in the Linux kernel ext4 filesystem can cause a kernel crash during block allocation, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **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-2023-53813, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53813, GHSA-q9qx-6p6c-fw88, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813

## What is CVE-2023-53813?

CVE-2023-53813 is a denial of service 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:

ext4: fix rbtree traversal bug in ext4_mb_use_preallocated

During allocations, while looking for preallocations(PA) in the per
inode rbtree, we can't do a direct traversal of the tree because
ext4_mb_discard_group_preallocation() can paralelly mark the pa deleted
and that can cause direct traversal to skip some entries. This was
leading to a BUG_ON() being hit [1] when we missed a PA that could satisfy
our request and ultimately tried to create a new PA that would overlap
with the missed one.

To makes sure we handle that case while still keeping the performance of
the rbtree, we make use of the fact that the only pa that could possibly
overlap the original goal start is the one that satisfies the below
conditions:

  1. It must have it's logical start immediately to the left of
  (ie less than) original logical start.

  2. It must not be deleted

To find this pa we use the following traversal method:

1. Descend into the rbtree normally to find the immediate neighboring
PA. Here we keep descending irrespective of if the PA is deleted or if
it overlaps with our request etc. The goal is to find an immediately
adjacent PA.

2. If the found PA is on right of original goal, use rb_prev() to find
the left adjacent PA.

3. Check if this PA is deleted and keep moving left with rb_prev() until
a non deleted PA is found.

4. This is the PA we are looking for. Now we can check if it can satisfy
the original request and proceed accordingly.

This approach also takes care of having deleted PAs in the tree.

(While we are at it, also fix a possible overflow bug in calculating the
end of a PA)

[1] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-ext4/CA+G9fYv2FRpLqBZf34ZinR8bU2_ZRAUOjKAD3+tKRFaEQHtt8Q@mail.gmail.com/

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53813?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-53813?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53813 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53813 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-53813 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53813 is a denial of service 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-2023-53813 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-2023-53813/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53813/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53813
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53813
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53813

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53813/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.