Out-of-bounds Read in Linux

CVE-2023-53238

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: phy: hisilicon: Fix an out of bounds check in hisi_inno_phy_probe() The size of array 'priv->ports[]' is INNO_PHY_PORT_NUM. In the for loop, 'i' is used as the index for array 'priv->ports[]' with a check (i > INNO_PHY_PORT_NUM) which indicates that INNO_PHY_PORT_NUM is allowed value for 'i' in the same loop. This > comparison needs to be changed to >=, otherwise it potentially leads to an out of bounds write on the next iteration through the loop

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.1 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.002 (4.5th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 5th percentile — 4.5% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2023-53238: held from 0.002 to 0.002.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: 0.000

Affected products

  • Linux — versions ba8b0ee81fbbc249e60f84bf097bd56e8047c742, 4.17, 0
  • Linux Kernel — versions 6.5

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-53238?
CVE-2023-53238 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Out-of-bounds Read. CVSS score: 7.1/10. Published 2025-09-15.
How severe is CVE-2023-53238?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.1 out of 10.