CVE-2023-53461
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-10-01

Last updated on: 2025-10-02

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: io_uring: wait interruptibly for request completions on exit WHen the ring exits, cleanup is done and the final cancelation and waiting on completions is done by io_ring_exit_work. That function is invoked by kworker, which doesn't take any signals. Because of that, it doesn't really matter if we wait for completions in TASK_INTERRUPTIBLE or TASK_UNINTERRUPTIBLE state. However, it does matter to the hung task detection checker! Normally we expect cancelations and completions to happen rather quickly. Some test cases, however, will exit the ring and park the owning task stopped (eg via SIGSTOP). If the owning task needs to run task_work to complete requests, then io_ring_exit_work won't make any progress until the task is runnable again. Hence io_ring_exit_work can trigger the hung task detection, which is particularly problematic if panic-on-hung-task is enabled. As the ring exit doesn't take signals to begin with, have it wait interruptibly rather than uninterruptibly. io_uring has a separate stuck-exit warning that triggers independently anyway, so we're not really missing anything by making this switch.
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
Probability:
Percentile:
Meta Information
Published
2025-10-01
Last Modified
2025-10-02
Generated
2026-05-07
AI Q&A
2025-10-01
EPSS Evaluated
2026-05-05
NVD
CVE-2023-53461
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc)
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
CWE Icon
KEV
KEV Icon
CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability involves the Linux kernel's io_uring feature during its exit process. When io_uring exits, it performs cleanup and waits for request completions using a function called io_ring_exit_work, which runs in a kernel worker thread (kworker) that does not handle signals. Because of this, waiting for completions in an uninterruptible state can cause problems with the hung task detection system, especially if the owning task is stopped (e.g., by SIGSTOP) and cannot run the necessary work to complete requests. This situation can falsely trigger hung task detection and potentially cause a kernel panic if panic-on-hung-task is enabled. The fix was to change the wait state to interruptible, which avoids these issues without losing any important warnings.


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

This vulnerability can cause the Linux kernel to falsely detect that a task is hung during the io_uring exit process, especially if the owning task is stopped and cannot complete its work. This false detection can trigger a kernel panic if the system is configured to panic on hung tasks, leading to system crashes and potential downtime.


Ask Our AI Assistant
Need more information? Ask your question to get an AI reply (Powered by our expertise)
0/70
EPSS Chart