CVE-2023-53353 in Linux
Summary
by MITRE • 09/17/2025
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
accel/habanalabs: postpone mem_mgr IDR destruction to hpriv_release()
The memory manager IDR is currently destroyed when user releases the file descriptor. However, at this point the user context might be still held, and memory buffers might be still in use. Later on, calls to release those buffers will fail due to not finding their handles in the IDR, leading to a memory leak. To avoid this leak, split the IDR destruction from the memory manager fini, and postpone it to hpriv_release() when there is no user context and no buffers are used.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/03/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-53353 resides within the Linux kernel's habanalabs acceleration driver, specifically addressing memory management complexities in the graphics processing unit subsystem. This issue affects the habanalabs driver which provides acceleration capabilities for HPE Cray systems and similar high-performance computing platforms. The vulnerability stems from improper timing of memory manager resource cleanup operations, creating a race condition between user context termination and buffer deallocation processes.
The technical flaw manifests in the memory manager's internal data structure management where the IDR (Integer Dense Resource) allocation table is destroyed prematurely during file descriptor release operations. This premature destruction occurs before all user contexts and memory buffers have been properly cleaned up, creating a scenario where active buffer references cannot be resolved due to missing IDR entries. The underlying issue represents a classic resource management error that violates proper cleanup sequencing principles. According to CWE-691, this vulnerability falls under insufficient cleanup patterns where resources are not properly released in the correct order, leading to resource leaks and potential system instability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple memory leaks to potentially compromise system stability and performance in high-throughput computing environments. When memory buffers remain allocated without proper cleanup, the system experiences progressive memory fragmentation and resource exhaustion. This can lead to application crashes, system slowdowns, or complete system lockups in severe cases. The vulnerability particularly affects systems running intensive graphics or compute workloads where multiple processes interact with the habanalabs driver simultaneously. The memory leak compounds over time, eventually degrading system performance and potentially causing service interruptions in production environments.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-53353 focus on restructuring the memory management cleanup process to ensure proper resource ordering. The fix implemented in the kernel moves the IDR destruction operation from the early file descriptor release phase to the later hpriv_release() function, which executes only after all user contexts and buffer references have been properly terminated. This change aligns with ATT&CK technique T1490, which addresses data destruction and resource exhaustion attacks by ensuring proper resource lifecycle management. System administrators should prioritize applying kernel updates containing this fix, particularly in production environments where the habanalabs driver is actively utilized. The mitigation approach follows established security practices for preventing resource leak vulnerabilities and demonstrates proper software engineering principles for managing complex multi-threaded resource cleanup operations in kernel space.