CVE-2023-53815
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided

BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-12-09

Last updated on: 2025-12-09

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: posix-timers: Prevent RT livelock in itimer_delete() itimer_delete() has a retry loop when the timer is concurrently expired. On non-RT kernels this just spin-waits until the timer callback has completed, except for posix CPU timers which have HAVE_POSIX_CPU_TIMERS_TASK_WORK enabled. In that case and on RT kernels the existing task could live lock when preempting the task which does the timer delivery. Replace spin_unlock() with an invocation of timer_wait_running() to handle it the same way as the other retry loops in the posix timer code.

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Meta Information

Published
2025-12-09
Last Modified
2025-12-09
Generated
2026-07-06
AI Q&A
2025-12-09
EPSS Evaluated
2026-07-05
NVD
CVE-2023-53815
EUVD
EUVD-2023-60091

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *

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Exploitability

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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability involves the Linux kernel's posix-timers, specifically in the itimer_delete() function. When a timer is concurrently expired, itimer_delete() uses a retry loop. On non-RT kernels, this results in spin-waiting until the timer callback completes. However, for posix CPU timers with HAVE_POSIX_CPU_TIMERS_TASK_WORK enabled and on RT kernels, the existing task could enter a live lock by preempting the task handling the timer delivery. The fix replaces spin_unlock() with timer_wait_running() to prevent this live lock, aligning the behavior with other retry loops in the posix timer code.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can cause a real-time (RT) live lock in the Linux kernel when using posix CPU timers with HAVE_POSIX_CPU_TIMERS_TASK_WORK enabled. A live lock means that the affected task continuously preempts the timer delivery task, preventing progress and potentially causing system responsiveness issues or degraded performance in time-sensitive applications.

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