CVE-2023-53375

  • Published: 2025-09-18T14:15:40.183

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

tracing: Free error logs of tracing instances

When a tracing instance is removed, the error messages that hold errors
that occurred in the instance needs to be freed. The following reports a
memory leak:

# cd /sys/kernel/tracing
# mkdir instances/foo
# echo ‘hist:keys=x’ > instances/foo/events/sched/sched_switch/trigger
# cat instances/foo/error_log
[ 117.404795] hist:sched:sched_switch: error: Couldn’t find field
Command: hist:keys=x
^
# rmdir instances/foo

Then check for memory leaks:

# echo scan > /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak
# cat /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak
unreferenced object 0xffff88810d8ec700 (size 192):
comm “bash”, pid 869, jiffies 4294950577 (age 215.752s)
hex dump (first 32 bytes):
60 dd 68 61 81 88 ff ff 60 dd 68 61 81 88 ff ff `.ha….`.ha….
a0 30 8c 83 ff ff ff ff 26 00 0a 00 00 00 00 00 .0……&…….
backtrace:
[] kmalloc_trace+0x2a/0xa0
[] tracing_log_err+0x277/0x2e0
[] parse_atom+0x966/0xb40
[] parse_expr+0x5f3/0xdb0
[] event_hist_trigger_parse+0x27f8/0x3560
[] trigger_process_regex+0x135/0x1a0
[] event_trigger_write+0x87/0xf0
[] vfs_write+0x162/0x670
[] ksys_write+0xca/0x170
[] do_syscall_64+0x3e/0xc0
[] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x72/0xdc
unreferenced object 0xffff888170c35a00 (size 32):
comm “bash”, pid 869, jiffies 4294950577 (age 215.752s)
hex dump (first 32 bytes):
0a 20 20 43 6f 6d 6d 61 6e 64 3a 20 68 69 73 74 . Command: hist
3a 6b 65 79 73 3d 78 0a 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 :keys=x………
backtrace:
[] __kmalloc+0x4d/0x160
[] tracing_log_err+0x29b/0x2e0
[] parse_atom+0x966/0xb40
[] parse_expr+0x5f3/0xdb0
[] event_hist_trigger_parse+0x27f8/0x3560
[] trigger_process_regex+0x135/0x1a0
[] event_trigger_write+0x87/0xf0
[] vfs_write+0x162/0x670
[] ksys_write+0xca/0x170
[] do_syscall_64+0x3e/0xc0
[] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x72/0xdc

The problem is that the error log needs to be freed when the instance is
removed.

Related CVE by CWE

No related CWE found.

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Recently Exploited Similar Vulnerabilities

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

How to fix CVE-2023-53375

CVE-2023-53375 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing: Free error logs of tracing instances When a tracing instance is removed, the error messages that hold errors that occurred in the instance needs to be freed. The following reports a memory leak: # cd /sys/kernel/tracing # mkdir instances/foo # echo ‘hist:keys=x’ > instances/foo/events/sched/sched_switch/trigger […]

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 18, 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.