Use After Free in Linux

CVE-2023-53116

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvmet: avoid potential UAF in nvmet_req_complete() An nvme target ->queue_response() operation implementation may free the request passed as argument. Such implementation potentially could result in a use after free of the request pointer when percpu_ref_put() is called in nvmet_req_complete(). Avoid such problem by using a local variable to save the sq pointer before calling __nvmet_req_complete(), thus avoiding dereferencing the req pointer after that function call.

Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free

EPSS: 0.002 (8.3th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-53116?
CVE-2023-53116 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2025-05-02.
How severe is CVE-2023-53116?
Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.