CVE-2023-53172

  • Published: 2025-09-15T14:15:39.057

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

fsverity: reject FS_IOC_ENABLE_VERITY on mode 3 fds

Commit 56124d6c87fd (“fsverity: support enabling with tree block size f_mode & FMODE_READ))’ in __kernel_read() became
reachable by fuzz tests. This happens if FS_IOC_ENABLE_VERITY is called
on a fd opened with access mode 3, which means “ioctl access only”.

Arguably, FS_IOC_ENABLE_VERITY should work on ioctl-only fds. But
ioctl-only fds are a weird Linux extension that is rarely used and that
few people even know about. (The documentation for FS_IOC_ENABLE_VERITY
even specifically says it requires O_RDONLY.) It’s probably not
worthwhile to make the ioctl internally open a new fd just to handle
this case. Thus, just reject the ioctl on such fds for now.

Related CVE by CWE

No related CWE found.

Top CVE for Vendor

No vendor taxonomy on this entry.

Recently Exploited Similar Vulnerabilities

No recent KEV-listed items for this vendor/product.

How to fix CVE-2023-53172

CVE-2023-53172 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fsverity: reject FS_IOC_ENABLE_VERITY on mode 3 fds Commit 56124d6c87fd (“fsverity: support enabling with tree block size f_mode & FMODE_READ))’ in __kernel_read() became reachable by fuzz tests. This happens if FS_IOC_ENABLE_VERITY is called on a fd opened with access mode 3, which means “ioctl access only”. […]

Exploit Difficulty: HARD
⏱️ Time to exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public exploits: Rare or not public

How to Fix:

1 Identify affected systems

- Check if you're running the affected product

2 Immediate actions

- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access

3 Verification

- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)

4 Long-term prevention

- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations

Exploit Difficulty Assessment

HARD
⏱️ Time to Exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Skills Required: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public Exploits: Rare or not public

Vulnerability Timeline

Sep 15, 2025
Vulnerability Published

CVE details first published to NVD database

Nov 12, 2025
Imported to Database

Added to this CVE tracking system

Detection Rules & IOCs

No specific detection rules generated for this vulnerability type.

No vendor/product data available.