CVE-2023-53172
5.5 · MEDIUMOverview
CVE-2023-53172 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting linux linux_kernel. It was published on September 15, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
Technical Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
fsverity: reject FS_IOC_ENABLE_VERITY on mode 3 fds
Commit 56124d6c87fd ("fsverity: support enabling with tree block size <
PAGE_SIZE") changed FS_IOC_ENABLE_VERITY to use __kernel_read() to read
the file's data, instead of direct pagecache accesses.
An unintended consequence of this is that the
'WARN_ON_ONCE(!(file->f_mode & FMODE_READ))' in __kernel_read() became
reachable by fuzz tests. This happens if FS_IOC_ENABLE_VERITY is called
on a fd opened with access mode 3, which means "ioctl access only".
Arguably, FS_IOC_ENABLE_VERITY should work on ioctl-only fds. But
ioctl-only fds are a weird Linux extension that is rarely used and that
few people even know about. (The documentation for FS_IOC_ENABLE_VERITY
even specifically says it requires O_RDONLY.) It's probably not
worthwhile to make the ioctl internally open a new fd just to handle
this case. Thus, just reject the ioctl on such fds for now.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from linux. Update linux_kernel to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2023-53172?
CVE-2023-53172 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting linux linux_kernel. It was published on September 15, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2023-53172?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2023-53172?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from linux. Update linux_kernel to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2023-53172?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2023-53172 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
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