CVE-2023-53118: 
Linux Kernel vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2023-53118 is a vulnerability discovered in the Linux kernel that affects the SCSI core subsystem. The issue was identified in the procfs host directory removal functionality, specifically in the scsiprochostdir_rm() function. This vulnerability was publicly disclosed on May 2, 2025 (NVD).

The vulnerability stems from a reference counter issue in the SCSI subsystem where scsiprochostdirrm() decreases a reference counter and must only be called once per host that is removed. The issue does not require changes to scsiaddhostwithdma() since it will return 0 (success) if scsiprochostadd() is called (RedHat). Red Hat has assigned this vulnerability a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5, indicating moderate severity (RedHat).

The vulnerability has been classified as low priority by Ubuntu (Ubuntu). The impact is limited as it requires elevated privileges to exploit, which reduces the potential attack surface.

The vulnerability has been resolved in the Linux kernel through a patch that addresses the reference counter issue in the SCSI core subsystem. Most major Linux distributions have marked their systems as either 'not affected' or have provided updates to address this vulnerability (Ubuntu).