CVE-2023-53677

A memory leak flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Intel i915 graphics driver in the selftest page allocation logic. A local user can trigger this issue when running i915 selftests and the fake_get_pages function encounters errors, causing the function to return without freeing previously allocated memory. This results in a permanent memory leak leading to resource exhaustion and denial of service.

The fake_get_pages function in the i915 selftest code allocates various resources but fails to free them when encountering errors in certain paths. When the function returns early due to error conditions, allocated pages and other structures remain unreleased. Since selftests are typically run during driver testing or validation rather than normal operation, the practical impact is limited to development and testing scenarios. However, if selftests are executed in production environments or during automated testing cycles, the accumulated leaks could cause memory exhaustion.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

To mitigate this issue, prevent the i915 module from being loaded, or avoid running i915 driver selftests until updates are applied. See https://access.redhat.com/solutions/41278 for instructions on blacklisting kernel modules.