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NVD / CVE Program· CNA Linux

CVE-2023-54227: blk-mq: fix tags leak when shrink nr_hw_queues

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 30/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.51% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
  • Fixed version: Linux Linux 26d495f0f64d8cd4fcd29206ee5c653ee0e0cbcd, c0ef7493e68b8896806a2f598fcffbaa97333405, e1dd7bc93029024af5688253b0c05181d6e01f8e.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to Linux Linux 26d495f0f64d8cd4fcd29206ee5c653ee0e0cbcd, c0ef7493e68b8896806a2f598fcffbaa97333405, e1dd7bc93029024af5688253b0c05181d6e01f8e or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: blk-mq: fix tags leak when shrink nr_hw_queues Although we don't need to realloc set->tags[] when shrink nr_hw_queues, we need to free them. Or these tags will be leaked. How to reproduce: 1. mount -t configfs configfs /mnt 2. modprobe null_blk nr_devices=0 submit_queues=8 3. mkdir /mnt/nullb/nullb0 4. echo 1 > /mnt/nullb/nullb0/power 5. echo 4 > /mnt/nullb/nullb0/submit_queues 6. rmdir /mnt/nullb/nullb0 In step 4, will alloc 9 tags (8 submit queues and 1 poll queue), then in step 5, new_nr_hw_queues = 5 (4 submit queues and 1 poll queue). At last in step 6, only these 5 tags are freed, the other 4 tags leaked.

HighCVSS 7.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Dec 30, 2025
Updated
Oct 28, 2026
EPSS
0.5% · 43th percentile
CWE
—

Report tools

JSON

Action score

30

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.5%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · Linux
7.5
NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

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When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

—

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Linux). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Linux Linux

    • 5.16affected
    • a846a8e6c9a5949582c5a6a8bbc83a7d27fd891e and later · before 26d495f0f64d8cd4fcd29206ee5c653ee0e0cbcdaffected · git
    • a846a8e6c9a5949582c5a6a8bbc83a7d27fd891e and later · before c0ef7493e68b8896806a2f598fcffbaa97333405affected · git
    • a846a8e6c9a5949582c5a6a8bbc83a7d27fd891e and later · before e1dd7bc93029024af5688253b0c05181d6e01f8eaffected · git
    • before 5.16not affected · semver
    • 6.1.189 and later · up to and including 6.1.*not affected · semver
    • 6.5.5 and later · up to and including 6.5.*not affected · semver
    • 6.6 and laternot affected · original_commit_for_fix

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12linuxbefore 6.1.190-16.1.190-1
Debian:13linuxbefore 6.5.6-16.5.6-1

Same product

linux: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-74705udp: fix potential use-after-free in tunnel segmentation
    40Plan
  • CVE-2026-74612veth: fix skb length accounting after XDP frag adjustment
    40Plan
  • CVE-2026-74475vxlan: use neigh_ha_snapshot() in route_shortcircuit()
    40Plan

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-54225Dec 30, 2025 · net: ipa: only reset hashed tables when supported
    0Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-54226Dec 30, 2025 · af_unix: Fix data races around sk->sk_shutdown.
    0Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2023-54228Dec 30, 2025 · regulator: raa215300: Fix resource leak in case of error
    0Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Linux Linux26d495f0f64d8cd4fcd29206ee5c653ee0e0cbcdVendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxc0ef7493e68b8896806a2f598fcffbaa97333405Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxe1dd7bc93029024af5688253b0c05181d6e01f8eVendor (CNA)
debian:linux6.1.190-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)
debian:linux6.5.6-1 · Debian:13Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
none
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

—

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

nvd-secondary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Change log

  1. SSVC exploitation— → none
  2. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (2 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records