CVE-2023-53988 fs/ntfs3: Fix slab-out-of-bounds read in hdr_delete_de()
A slab-out-of-bounds read in the Linux kernel NTFS3 driver allows attackers to cause a kernel panic via a malicious filesystem image.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2023-53988?
CVE-2023-53988 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Dec 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
fs/ntfs3: Fix slab-out-of-bounds read in hdr_delete_de()
Here is a BUG report from syzbot:
BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in hdr_delete_de+0xe0/0x150 fs/ntfs3/index.c:806 Read of size 16842960 at addr ffff888079cc0600 by task syz-executor934/3631
Call Trace: memmove+0x25/0x60 mm/kasan/shadow.c:54 hdr_delete_de+0xe0/0x150 fs/ntfs3/index.c:806 indx_delete_entry+0x74f/0x3670 fs/ntfs3/index.c:2193 ni_remove_name+0x27a/0x980 fs/ntfs3/frecord.c:2910 ntfs_unlink_inode+0x3d4/0x720 fs/ntfs3/inode.c:1712 ntfs_rename+0x41a/0xcb0 fs/ntfs3/namei.c:276
Before using the meta-data in struct INDEX_HDR, we need to check index header valid or not. Otherwise, the corruptedi (or malicious) fs image can cause out-of-bounds access which could make kernel panic.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53988?
How do I fix CVE-2023-53988?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2023-53988 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53988 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53988, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53988, GHSA-fv37-p8q5-m4r6, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53988.