Use After Free in Linux

CVE-2023-53515

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio-mmio: don't break lifecycle of vm_dev vm_dev has a separate lifecycle because it has a 'struct device' embedded. Thus, having a release callback for it is correct. Allocating the vm_dev struct with devres totally breaks this protection, though. Instead of waiting for the vm_dev release callback, the memory is freed when the platform_device is removed. Resulting in a use-after-free when finally the callback is to be called. To easily see the problem, compile the kernel with CONFIG_DEBUG_KOBJECT_RELEASE and unbind with sysfs. The fix is easy, don't use devres in this case. Found during my research about object lifetime problems.

Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.001 (3.5th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 3rd percentile — 3.5% 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-2023-53515: held from 0.001 to 0.001.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.001 · newest: 0.001 · change: 0.000

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 7eb781b1bbb7136fe78fb8c28c1c223c61fa32b5, 4.15, 0
  • Linux Kernel — versions 4.15, 6.5

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-53515?
CVE-2023-53515 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2025-10-01.
How severe is CVE-2023-53515?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.