CVE-2023-53184: linux Out-of-bounds Write

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2023-53184 is a high (CVSS 7.8) Out-of-bounds Write vulnerability in linux. EPSS estimates a 0.17% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 5.5% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 15-09-2025
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 15-10-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arm64/sme: Set new vector length before reallocating As part of fixing the allocation of the buffer for SVE state when changing SME vector length we introduced an immediate reallocation of the SVE state, this is also done when changing the SVE vector length for consistency. Unfortunately this reallocation is done prior to writing the new vector length to the task struct, meaning the allocation is done with the old vector length and can lead to memory corruption due to an undersized buffer being used. Move the update of the vector length before the allocation to ensure that the new vector length is taken into account. For some reason this isn't triggering any problems when running tests on the arm64 fixes branch (even after repeated tries) but is triggering issues very often after merge into mainline.

• CWE-787Out-of-bounds WriteThe product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.