CVE-2023-53138: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-pgwx-747m-9mgh
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CVSS 7.8
CWE-416
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-53138 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-416: Use After Free) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. at some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2023-53138 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-53138
GHSA Identifier GHSA-pgwx-747m-9mgh
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-416: Use After Free
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2023-53138

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2023-53138, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-416: Use After Free, where the product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. at some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: caif: Fix use-after-free in cfusbl_device_notify() syzbot reported use-after-free in cfusbl_device_notify() [1]. This causes a stack trace like below: BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in cfusbl_device_notify+0x7c9/0x870 net/caif/caif_usb.c:138 Read of size 8 at addr ffff88807ac4e6f0 by task kworker/u4:6/1214 CPU: 0 PID: 1214 Comm: kworker/u4:6 Not tainted 5.19.0-rc3-syzkaller-00146-g92f20ff72066 #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 01/01/2011 Workqueue: netns cleanup_net Call Trace: <TASK> __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0xcd/0x134 lib/dump_stack.c:106 print_address_description.constprop.0.cold+0xeb/0x467 mm/kasan/report.c:313 print_report mm/kasan/report.c:429 [inline] kasan_report.cold+0xf4/0x1c6 mm/kasan/report.c:491 cfusbl_device_notify+0x7c9/0x870 net/caif/caif_usb.c:138 notifier_call_chain+0xb5/0x200 kernel/notifier.c:87 call_netdevice_notifiers_info+0xb5/0x130 net/core/dev.c:1945 call_netdevice_notifiers_extack net/core/dev.c:1983 [inline] call_netdevice_notifiers net/core/dev.c:1997 [inline] netdev_wait_allrefs_any net/core/dev.c:10227 [inline] netdev_run_todo+0xbc0/0x10f0 net/core/dev.c:10341 default_device_exit_batch+0x44e/0x590 net/core/dev.c:11334 ops_exit_list+0x125/0x170 net/core/net_namespace.c:167 cleanup_net+0x4ea/0xb00 net/core/net_namespace.c:594 process_one_work+0x996/0x1610 kernel/workqueue.c:2289 worker_thread+0x665/0x1080 kernel/workqueue.c:2436 kthread+0x2e9/0x3a0 kernel/kthread.c:376 ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:302 </TASK> When unregistering a net device, unregister_netdevice_many_notify() sets the device's reg_state to NETREG_UNREGISTERING, calls notifiers with NETDEV_UNREGISTER, and adds the device to the todo list. Later on, devices in the todo list are processed by netdev_run_todo(). netdev_run_todo() waits devices' reference count become 1 while rebdoadcasting NETDEV_UNREGISTER notification. When cfusbl_device_notify() is called with NETDEV_UNREGISTER multiple times, the parent device might be freed. This could cause UAF. Processing NETDEV_UNREGISTER multiple times also causes inbalance of reference count for the module. This patch fixes the issue by accepting only first NETDEV_UNREGISTER notification.

References

NVD — CVE-2023-53138 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53138
git.kernel.org/stable/c/1793da97a2... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1793da97a23e31c5bf06631f3f3e5a25f368fd64
git.kernel.org/stable/c/287027d8a5... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/287027d8a567168a5d8ce5cb0cba16a34791a48c
git.kernel.org/stable/c/3f14457e15... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3f14457e1584224f4296af613bbd99deb60b5d91
git.kernel.org/stable/c/68a45c3cf0... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/68a45c3cf0e2242a533657f4f535d9b6a7447a79
git.kernel.org/stable/c/9781e98a97... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9781e98a97110f5e76999058368b4be76a788484
git.kernel.org/stable/c/9dc16be373... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9dc16be373b382ddd4c274052a6e870a95e76c01
git.kernel.org/stable/c/c3aaec463a... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c3aaec463a632cf4187dc017e421bfa69d7834a9
git.kernel.org/stable/c/d1a11bbdbb... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d1a11bbdbb5ea9f172019c5a4a3e9d8eabd72179

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-53138?
CVE-2023-53138 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-416: Use After Free.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2023-53138?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-53138?
CVE-2023-53138 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-53138?
CVE-2023-53138 is classified under CWE-416: Use After Free (The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2023-53138?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
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  "id" : "GHSA-pgwx-747m-9mgh",
  "modified" : "2025-11-10T18:30:30Z",
  "published" : "2025-05-02T18:31:38Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-53138" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: caif: Fix use-after-free in cfusbl_device_notify()\n\nsyzbot reported use-after-free in cfusbl_device_notify() [1].  This\ncauses a stack trace like below:\n\nBUG: KASAN: use-after-free in cfusbl_device_notify+0x7c9/0x870 net/caif/caif_usb.c:138\nRead of size 8 at addr ffff88807ac4e6f0 by task kworker/u4:6/1214\n\nCPU: 0 PID: 1214 Comm: kworker/u4:6 Not tainted 5.19.0-rc3-syzkaller-00146-g92f20ff72066 #0\nHardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 01/01/2011\nWorkqueue: netns cleanup_net\nCall Trace:\n <TASK>\n __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline]\n dump_stack_lvl+0xcd/0x134 lib/dump_stack.c:106\n print_address_description.constprop.0.cold+0xeb/0x467 mm/kasan/report.c:313\n print_report mm/kasan/report.c:429 [inline]\n kasan_report.cold+0xf4/0x1c6 mm/kasan/report.c:491\n cfusbl_device_notify+0x7c9/0x870 net/caif/caif_usb.c:138\n notifier_call_chain+0xb5/0x200 kernel/notifier.c:87\n call_netdevice_notifiers_info+0xb5/0x130 net/core/dev.c:1945\n call_netdevice_notifiers_extack net/core/dev.c:1983 [inline]\n call_netdevice_notifiers net/core/dev.c:1997 [inline]\n netdev_wait_allrefs_any net/core/dev.c:10227 [inline]\n netdev_run_todo+0xbc0/0x10f0 net/core/dev.c:10341\n default_device_exit_batch+0x44e/0x590 net/core/dev.c:11334\n ops_exit_list+0x125/0x170 net/core/net_namespace.c:167\n cleanup_net+0x4ea/0xb00 net/core/net_namespace.c:594\n process_one_work+0x996/0x1610 kernel/workqueue.c:2289\n worker_thread+0x665/0x1080 kernel/workqueue.c:2436\n kthread+0x2e9/0x3a0 kernel/kthread.c:376\n ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:302\n </TASK>\n\nWhen unregistering a net device, unregister_netdevice_many_notify()\nsets the device's reg_state to NETREG_UNREGISTERING, calls notifiers\nwith NETDEV_UNREGISTER, and adds the device to the todo list.\n\nLater on, devices in the todo list are processed by netdev_run_todo().\nnetdev_run_todo() waits devices' reference count become 1 while\nrebdoadcasting NETDEV_UNREGISTER notification.\n\nWhen cfusbl_device_notify() is called with NETDEV_UNREGISTER multiple\ntimes, the parent device might be freed.  This could cause UAF.\nProcessing NETDEV_UNREGISTER multiple times also causes inbalance of\nreference count for the module.\n\nThis patch fixes the issue by accepting only first NETDEV_UNREGISTER\nnotification.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
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    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d1a11bbdbb5ea9f172019c5a4a3e9d8eabd72179"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
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    "severity" : "HIGH",
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    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-05-02T16:15:32Z"
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}