CVE-2023-53411: 
Linux Kernel vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2023-53411 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel related to memory management, discovered and disclosed on September 18, 2025. The issue specifically affects the Power Management (PM) Energy Model (EM) component, where calling debugfs_lookup() without a subsequent dput() call results in memory leaks over time (NVD).

The vulnerability stems from improper memory management in the Linux kernel's PM: EM component. When debugfslookup() is called, the result must have dput() called on it to prevent memory leaks. The technical solution involves replacing the problematic code with debugfslookupandremove() which handles all the logic at once, ensuring proper memory cleanup (Ubuntu).

The primary impact of this vulnerability is a memory leak that occurs over time in affected systems. While the leak is gradual, it could potentially lead to system resource exhaustion if left unaddressed for extended periods (NVD).

Fixes have been released for multiple Linux distributions and kernel versions. Ubuntu has implemented fixes in various kernel packages including linux-hwe-5.15 (5.15.0-75.82~20.04.1), linux-azure (5.15.0-1040.47), and linux-gcp (5.15.0-1036.44) among others. Users are advised to update their systems to the patched versions (Ubuntu).