Vulnerability · Published Oct 7, 2025 · Assigned by Linux
CVE-2023-53668ring-buffer: Fix deadloop issue on reading trace_pipe
High 7.1
In plain English
A high-severity security flaw in Linux from Linux. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.2% (higher than 4% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ring-buffer: Fix deadloop issue on reading trace_pipe Soft lockup occurs when reading file 'trace_pipe': watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#6 stuck for 22s! [cat:4488] [...] RIP: 0010:ring_buffer_empty_cpu+0xed/0x170 RSP: 0018:ffff88810dd6fc48 EFLAGS: 00000246 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 0000000000000246 RCX: ffffffff93d1aaeb RDX: ffff88810a280040 RSI: 0000000000000008 RDI: ffff88811164b218 RBP: ffff88811164b218 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: ffff88815156600f R10: ffffed102a2acc01 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: 0000000051651901 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: ffff888115e49500 R15: 0000000000000000 [...] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007f8d853c2000 CR3: 000000010dcd8000 CR4: 00000000000006e0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: __find_next_entry+0x1a8/0x4b0 ? peek_next_entry+0x250/0x250 ? down_write+0xa5/0x120 ? down_write_killable+0x130/0x130 trace_find_next_entry_inc+0x3b/0x1d0 tracing_read_pipe+0x423/0xae0 ? tracing_splice_read_pipe+0xcb0/0xcb0 vfs_read+0x16b/0x490 ksys_read+0x105/0x210 ? __ia32_sys_pwrite64+0x200/0x200 ? switch_fpu_return+0x108/0x220 do_syscall_64+0x33/0x40 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x61/0xc6 Through the vmcore, I found it's because in tracing_read_pipe(), ring_buffer_empty_cpu() found some buffer is not empty but then it cannot read anything due to "rb_num_of_entries() == 0" always true, Then it infinitely loop the procedure due to user buffer not been filled, see following code path: tracing_read_pipe() { ... ... waitagain: tracing_wait_pipe() // 1. find non-empty buffer here trace_find_next_entry_inc() // 2. loop here try to find an entry __find_next_entry() ring_buffer_empty_cpu(); // 3. find non-empty buffer peek_next_entry() // 4. but peek always return NULL ring_buffer_peek() rb_buffer_peek() rb_get_reader_page() // 5. because rb_num_of_entries() == 0 always true here // then return NULL // 6. user buffer not been filled so goto 'waitgain' // and eventually leads to an deadloop in kernel!!! } By some analyzing, I found that when resetting ringbuffer, the 'entries' of its pages are not all cleared (see rb_reset_cpu()). Then when reducing the ringbuffer, and if some reduced pages exist dirty 'entries' data, they will be added into 'cpu_buffer->overrun' (see rb_remove_pages()), which cause wrong 'overrun' count and eventually cause the deadloop issue. To fix it, we need to clear every pages in rb_reset_cpu().
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | linux | 6.1.52-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Debian:13 | linux | 6.4.11-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Debian:14 | linux | 6.4.11-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux | 5.15.0-86.96 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-allwinner-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws | 5.15.0-1047.52 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure | 5.15.0-1049.56 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde | 5.15.0-1049.56.1 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp | 5.15.0-1044.52 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gke | 5.15.0-1044.49 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gkeop | 5.15.0-1030.35 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-ibm | 5.15.0-1040.43 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-intel | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-intel-iot-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-intel-iotg | 5.15.0-1043.49 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-kvm | 5.15.0-1044.49 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency | 5.15.0-86.95 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia | 5.15.0-1037.37 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-tegra | 5.15.0-1018.18 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-tegra-igx | 5.15.0-1005.5 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-5.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.0 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.1 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.8 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oracle | 5.15.0-1045.51 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oracle-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-raspi | 5.15.0-1040.43 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-raspi-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-riscv | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-xilinx-zynqmp | 5.15.0-1025.29 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53668 |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | a5fb833172eca69136e9ee1ada778e404086ab8a – before 0a29dae5786d263016a9aceb1e56bf3fd4cc6fa0a5fb833172eca69136e9ee1ada778e404086ab8a – before a55e8a3596048c2f7b574049aeb1885b5abba1cca5fb833172eca69136e9ee1ada778e404086ab8a – before e84829522fc72bb43556b31575731de0440ac0dda5fb833172eca69136e9ee1ada778e404086ab8a – before 5e68f1f3a20fe9b6bde018e353269fbfa289609ca5fb833172eca69136e9ee1ada778e404086ab8a – before bb14a93bccc92766b1d9302c6bcbea17d4bce306a5fb833172eca69136e9ee1ada778e404086ab8a – before 8b0b63fdac6b70a45614e7d4b30e5bbb93deb007a5fb833172eca69136e9ee1ada778e404086ab8a – before 27bdd93e44cc28dd9b94893fae146b83d4f5b31ea5fb833172eca69136e9ee1ada778e404086ab8a – before 7e42907f3a7b4ce3a2d1757f6d78336984daf8f5 |
| Linux | Linux | 3.6 |
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0a29dae5786d263016a9aceb1e56bf3fd4cc6fa0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a55e8a3596048c2f7b574049aeb1885b5abba1cc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e84829522fc72bb43556b31575731de0440ac0dd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5e68f1f3a20fe9b6bde018e353269fbfa289609c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bb14a93bccc92766b1d9302c6bcbea17d4bce306
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8b0b63fdac6b70a45614e7d4b30e5bbb93deb007
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/27bdd93e44cc28dd9b94893fae146b83d4f5b31e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7e42907f3a7b4ce3a2d1757f6d78336984daf8f5