Highly exploitable, CVE-2023-53363 poses a critical security risk that could lead to severe breaches.
Status: Analyzed
Last updated: 🕓 12 Dec 2025, 16:26 UTC
Originally published on: 🕒 17 Sep 2025, 15:15 UTC
Time between publication and last update: 86 days
CVSS Release: version 3
nvd@nist.gov
Primary
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVE-2023-53363: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: PCI: Fix use-after-free in pci_bus_release_domain_nr() Commit c14f7ccc9f5d ("PCI: Assign PCI domain IDs by ida_alloc()") introduced a use-after-free bug in the bus removal cleanup. The issue was found with kfence: [ 19.293351] BUG: KFENCE: use-after-free read in pci_bus_release_domain_nr+0x10/0x70 [ 19.302817] Use-after-free read at 0x000000007f3b80eb (in kfence-#115): [ 19.309677] pci_bus_release_domain_nr+0x10/0x70 [ 19.309691] dw_pcie_host_deinit+0x28/0x78 [ 19.309702] tegra_pcie_deinit_controller+0x1c/0x38 [pcie_tegra194] [ 19.309734] tegra_pcie_dw_probe+0x648/0xb28 [pcie_tegra194] [ 19.309752] platform_probe+0x90/0xd8 ... [ 19.311457] kfence-#115: 0x00000000063a155a-0x00000000ba698da8, size=1072, cache=kmalloc-2k [ 19.311469] allocated by task 96 on cpu 10 at 19.279323s: [ 19.311562] __kmem_cache_alloc_node+0x260/0x278 [ 19.311571] kmalloc_trace+0x24/0x30 [ 19.311580] pci_alloc_bus+0x24/0xa0 [ 19.311590] pci_register_host_bridge+0x48/0x4b8 [ 19.311601] pci_scan_root_bus_bridge+0xc0/0xe8 [ 19.311613] pci_host_probe+0x18/0xc0 [ 19.311623] dw_pcie_host_init+0x2c0/0x568 [ 19.311630] tegra_pcie_dw_probe+0x610/0xb28 [pcie_tegra194] [ 19.311647] platform_probe+0x90/0xd8 ... [ 19.311782] freed by task 96 on cpu 10 at 19.285833s: [ 19.311799] release_pcibus_dev+0x30/0x40 [ 19.311808] device_release+0x30/0x90 [ 19.311814] kobject_put+0xa8/0x120 [ 19.311832] device_unregister+0x20/0x30 [ 19.311839] pci_remove_bus+0x78/0x88 [ 19.311850] pci_remove_root_bus+0x5c/0x98 [ 19.311860] dw_pcie_host_deinit+0x28/0x78 [ 19.311866] tegra_pcie_deinit_controller+0x1c/0x38 [pcie_tegra194] [ 19.311883] tegra_pcie_dw_probe+0x648/0xb28 [pcie_tegra194] [ 19.311900] platform_probe+0x90/0xd8 ... [ 19.313579] CPU: 10 PID: 96 Comm: kworker/u24:2 Not tainted 6.2.0 #4 [ 19.320171] Hardware name: /, BIOS 1.0-d7fb19b 08/10/2022 [ 19.325852] Workqueue: events_unbound deferred_probe_work_func The stack trace is a bit misleading as dw_pcie_host_deinit() doesn't directly call pci_bus_release_domain_nr(). The issue turns out to be in pci_remove_root_bus() which first calls pci_remove_bus() which frees the struct pci_bus when its struct device is released. Then pci_bus_release_domain_nr() is called and accesses the freed struct pci_bus. Reordering these fixes the issue.
The exploitability of CVE-2023-53363 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
CVE-2023-53363 presents an accessible attack vector with minimal effort required. Restricting access controls and implementing security updates are critical to reducing exploitation risks.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2023-53363, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2023-53363, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
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