Use After Free in Linux

CVE-2023-53636

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: clk: microchip: fix potential UAF in auxdev release callback Similar to commit 1c11289b34ab ("peci: cpu: Fix use-after-free in adev_release()"), the auxiliary device is not torn down in the correct order. If auxiliary_device_add() fails, the release callback will be called twice, resulting in a UAF. Due to timing, the auxdev code in this driver "took inspiration" from the aforementioned commit, and thus its bugs too! Moving auxiliary_device_uninit() to the unregister callback instead avoids the issue.

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: 0.002 (9.1th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 9th percentile — 9.1% 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-2023-53636: held from 0.002 to 0.002.

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

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-53636?
CVE-2023-53636 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2025-10-07.
How severe is CVE-2023-53636?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.