CVE-2023-53713 (GCVE-0-2023-53713)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2025-10-22 13:23 – Updated: 2026-08-05 09:15
VLAI
Title
arm64: sme: Use STR P to clear FFR context field in streaming SVE mode
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arm64: sme: Use STR P to clear FFR context field in streaming SVE mode The FFR is a predicate register which can vary between 16 and 256 bits in size depending upon the configured vector length. When saving the SVE state in streaming SVE mode, the FFR register is inaccessible and so commit 9f5848665788 ("arm64/sve: Make access to FFR optional") simply clears the FFR field of the in-memory context structure. Unfortunately, it achieves this using an unconditional 8-byte store and so if the SME vector length is anything other than 64 bytes in size we will either fail to clear the entire field or, worse, we will corrupt memory immediately following the structure. This has led to intermittent kfence splats in CI [1] and can trigger kmalloc Redzone corruption messages when running the 'fp-stress' kselftest: | ============================================================================= | BUG kmalloc-1k (Not tainted): kmalloc Redzone overwritten | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 0xffff000809bf1e22-0xffff000809bf1e27 @offset=7714. First byte 0x0 instead of 0xcc | Allocated in do_sme_acc+0x9c/0x220 age=2613 cpu=1 pid=531 | __kmalloc+0x8c/0xcc | do_sme_acc+0x9c/0x220 | ... Replace the 8-byte store with a store of a predicate register which has been zero-initialised with PFALSE, ensuring that the entire field is cleared in memory. [1] https://lore.kernel.org/r/CA+G9fYtU7HsV0R0dp4XEH5xXHSJFw8KyDf5VQrLLfMxWfxQkag@mail.gmail.com
Severity
7.8 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Assigner
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version
Linux Linux Affected: 9f5848665788a0f07bc175cb2cdd06d367b7556e , < 97669214944e80d3756657c21c4f286f3da6a423 (git)
Affected: 9f5848665788a0f07bc175cb2cdd06d367b7556e , < 8769a62faacbbb6cac5e35d9047ce445183d4e9f (git)
Affected: 9f5848665788a0f07bc175cb2cdd06d367b7556e , < 1403a899153a12d93fd510e463fd6d0eafba4336 (git)
Affected: 9f5848665788a0f07bc175cb2cdd06d367b7556e , < 893b24181b4c4bf1fa2841b1ed192e5413a97cb1 (git)
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Linux Linux Affected: 5.16
Unaffected: 0 , < 5.16 (semver)
Unaffected: 6.1.39 , ≤ 6.1.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.3.13 , ≤ 6.3.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.4.4 , ≤ 6.4.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.5 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix)
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{
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      "affected": [
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          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
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          "lang": "en",
          "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\narm64: sme: Use STR P to clear FFR context field in streaming SVE mode\n\nThe FFR is a predicate register which can vary between 16 and 256 bits\nin size depending upon the configured vector length. When saving the\nSVE state in streaming SVE mode, the FFR register is inaccessible and\nso commit 9f5848665788 (\"arm64/sve: Make access to FFR optional\") simply\nclears the FFR field of the in-memory context structure. Unfortunately,\nit achieves this using an unconditional 8-byte store and so if the SME\nvector length is anything other than 64 bytes in size we will either\nfail to clear the entire field or, worse, we will corrupt memory\nimmediately following the structure. This has led to intermittent kfence\nsplats in CI [1] and can trigger kmalloc Redzone corruption messages\nwhen running the \u0027fp-stress\u0027 kselftest:\n\n | =============================================================================\n | BUG kmalloc-1k (Not tainted): kmalloc Redzone overwritten\n | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n |\n | 0xffff000809bf1e22-0xffff000809bf1e27 @offset=7714. First byte 0x0 instead of 0xcc\n | Allocated in do_sme_acc+0x9c/0x220 age=2613 cpu=1 pid=531\n |  __kmalloc+0x8c/0xcc\n |  do_sme_acc+0x9c/0x220\n |  ...\n\nReplace the 8-byte store with a store of a predicate register which has\nbeen zero-initialised with PFALSE, ensuring that the entire field is\ncleared in memory.\n\n[1] https://lore.kernel.org/r/CA+G9fYtU7HsV0R0dp4XEH5xXHSJFw8KyDf5VQrLLfMxWfxQkag@mail.gmail.com"
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            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
            "version": "3.1"
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              "value": "AV:L - Triggering requires executing code on the target: an unprivileged `prctl(PR_SME_SET_VL)` followed by an EL0 `SMSTART SM` instruction and a context switch. There is no remote or adjacent-network path to `fpsimd_save()`.\nAC:L - The attacker fully controls every triggering condition \u2014 the streaming vector length via prctl, entry into streaming SVE mode, and the context switch that invokes `sve_save_state()` \u2014 so the out-of-bounds store fires deterministically on every save, and the operation can be repeated in a tight loop to groom the slab.\nPR:L - `sme_set_current_vl()` and the SME access trap handler `do_sme_acc()` perform no capability or credential checks whatsoever; any ordinary unprivileged user process on an SME-capable system reaches the vulnerable store.\nUI:N - The attacking process triggers the save path entirely on its own via prctl plus an instruction; no victim action, file open, or mount is involved.\nS:U - The corruption occurs in the kernel\u0027s own slab allocation for the calling task\u0027s FP state, staying within the kernel\u0027s security authority \u2014 no VM, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary is crossed.\nC:H - The out-of-bounds write past the end of a kmalloc\u0027d object is memory corruption of attacker-selectable allocation size, leverageable via heap grooming to zero length/pointer/refcount fields of a neighbouring object and thereby obtain kernel memory disclosure; additionally, for streaming vector lengths above 512 bits the FFR field is only partially cleared, and that stale in-kernel state is copied out to userspace through the SVE signal frame and the `NT_ARM_SSVE` ptrace regset.\nI:H - This is a heap out-of-bounds write \u2014 up to six zero bytes written beyond the end of a `kzalloc()`ed `task-\u003ethread.sve_state` buffer, confirmed in practice by kmalloc redzone-overwrite reports. Zeroing the leading bytes of an adjacent slab object (refcounts, pointers, flags) is a well-established primitive for corrupting kernel state and escalating privileges.\nA:H - The OOB store corrupts memory immediately following the slab object and produces kernel oopses in practice \u2014 the fix was prompted by intermittent KFENCE guard-page splats in CI, where the write lands on a guard page and faults at EL1, and SLUB redzone corruption detection can panic a hardened kernel."
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        "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T09:15:40.426Z",
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        "shortName": "Linux"
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        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/893b24181b4c4bf1fa2841b1ed192e5413a97cb1"
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      "title": "arm64: sme: Use STR P to clear FFR context field in streaming SVE mode",
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    "assignerShortName": "Linux",
    "cveId": "CVE-2023-53713",
    "datePublished": "2025-10-22T13:23:47.720Z",
    "dateReserved": "2025-10-22T13:21:37.347Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T09:15:40.426Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
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    "redhat_vex": {
      "aggregate_severity": "Moderate",
      "current_release_date": "2026-08-04T19:15:12+00:00",
      "cve": "CVE-2023-53713",
      "id": "CVE-2023-53713",
      "initial_release_date": "2023-01-01T00:00:00+00:00",
      "product_status:fixed": "279",
      "product_status:known_affected": "70",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "118",
      "source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
      "status": "final",
      "title": "kernel: arm64: sme: Use STR P to clear FFR context field in streaming SVE mode",
      "url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2023/cve-2023-53713.json",
      "version": "3"
    },
    "suse_vex": {
      "aggregate_severity": "important",
      "current_release_date": "2026-07-23T02:13:56Z",
      "cve": "CVE-2023-53713",
      "id": "CVE-2023-53713",
      "initial_release_date": "2025-10-24T00:57:32Z",
      "product_status:known_affected": "394",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "262",
      "product_status:recommended": "375",
      "source": "SUSE CSAF VEX",
      "status": "interim",
      "title": "SUSE CVE CVE-2023-53713",
      "url": "https://ftp.suse.com/pub/projects/security/csaf-vex/cve-2023-53713.json",
      "version": "39"
    }
  }
}



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Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.

Sightings

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Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
  • Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.


Detection rules are retrieved from Rulezet.