Vulnerability · Published Dec 9, 2025 · Assigned by Linux

CVE-2023-53813ext4: fix rbtree traversal bug in ext4_mb_use_preallocated

Unrated

In plain English

A security flaw in Linux from Linux. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.2% (higher than 9% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS )–Not rated
Exploit odds (30 days)0.2%top 91.2% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsnot in CISA KEV
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix rbtree traversal bug in ext4_mb_use_preallocated During allocations, while looking for preallocations(PA) in the per inode rbtree, we can't do a direct traversal of the tree because ext4_mb_discard_group_preallocation() can paralelly mark the pa deleted and that can cause direct traversal to skip some entries. This was leading to a BUG_ON() being hit [1] when we missed a PA that could satisfy our request and ultimately tried to create a new PA that would overlap with the missed one. To makes sure we handle that case while still keeping the performance of the rbtree, we make use of the fact that the only pa that could possibly overlap the original goal start is the one that satisfies the below conditions: 1. It must have it's logical start immediately to the left of (ie less than) original logical start. 2. It must not be deleted To find this pa we use the following traversal method: 1. Descend into the rbtree normally to find the immediate neighboring PA. Here we keep descending irrespective of if the PA is deleted or if it overlaps with our request etc. The goal is to find an immediately adjacent PA. 2. If the found PA is on right of original goal, use rb_prev() to find the left adjacent PA. 3. Check if this PA is deleted and keep moving left with rb_prev() until a non deleted PA is found. 4. This is the PA we are looking for. Now we can check if it can satisfy the original request and proceed accordingly. This approach also takes care of having deleted PAs in the tree. (While we are at it, also fix a possible overflow bug in calculating the end of a PA) [1] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-ext4/CA+G9fYv2FRpLqBZf34ZinR8bU2_ZRAUOjKAD3+tKRFaEQHtt8Q@mail.gmail.com/

Affected packages & fixed versions

EcosystemPackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian:13linux6.4.11-1DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53813
Debian:14linux6.4.11-1DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-allwinner-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-intel-iot-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-5.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.0no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.1no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-raspi-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscvno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscvno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2023-53813

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
Linux Linux 3872778664e36528caf8b27f355e75482f6d562d – before 339fee69a1daa71d6f97e47a867e2c32419a24063872778664e36528caf8b27f355e75482f6d562d – before 9d3de7ee192a6a253f475197fe4d2e2af10a731f
Linux Linux 6.4

References