Vulnerability · Published Dec 30, 2025 · Assigned by Linux
CVE-2023-54316refscale: Fix uninitalized use of wait_queue_head_t
Unrated
In plain English
A 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 9% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: refscale: Fix uninitalized use of wait_queue_head_t Running the refscale test occasionally crashes the kernel with the following error: [ 8569.952896] BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffffffffffffe8 [ 8569.952900] #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode [ 8569.952902] #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page [ 8569.952904] PGD c4b048067 P4D c4b049067 PUD c4b04b067 PMD 0 [ 8569.952910] Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT_RT SMP NOPTI [ 8569.952916] Hardware name: Dell Inc. PowerEdge R750/0WMWCR, BIOS 1.2.4 05/28/2021 [ 8569.952917] RIP: 0010:prepare_to_wait_event+0x101/0x190 : [ 8569.952940] Call Trace: [ 8569.952941] <TASK> [ 8569.952944] ref_scale_reader+0x380/0x4a0 [refscale] [ 8569.952959] kthread+0x10e/0x130 [ 8569.952966] ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30 [ 8569.952973] </TASK> The likely cause is that init_waitqueue_head() is called after the call to the torture_create_kthread() function that creates the ref_scale_reader kthread. Although this init_waitqueue_head() call will very likely complete before this kthread is created and starts running, it is possible that the calling kthread will be delayed between the calls to torture_create_kthread() and init_waitqueue_head(). In this case, the new kthread will use the waitqueue head before it is properly initialized, which is not good for the kernel's health and well-being. The above crash happened here: static inline void __add_wait_queue(...) { : if (!(wq->flags & WQ_FLAG_PRIORITY)) <=== Crash here The offset of flags from list_head entry in wait_queue_entry is -0x18. If reader_tasks[i].wq.head.next is NULL as allocated reader_task structure is zero initialized, the instruction will try to access address 0xffffffffffffffe8, which is exactly the fault address listed above. This commit therefore invokes init_waitqueue_head() before creating the kthread.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | linux | 6.1.55-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Debian:13 | linux | 6.5.3-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Debian:14 | linux | 6.5.3-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux | 5.15.0-94.104 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-allwinner-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws | 5.15.0-1053.58 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure | 5.15.0-1056.64 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde | 5.15.0-1056.64.1 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp | 5.15.0-1051.59 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gke | 5.15.0-1050.55 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gkeop | 5.15.0-1036.42 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-ibm | 5.15.0-1046.49 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-intel-iot-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-intel-iotg | 5.15.0-1047.53 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-kvm | 5.15.0-1050.55 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency | 5.15.0-94.104 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia | 5.15.0-1044.44 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-tegra | 5.15.0-1022.22 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-tegra-igx | 5.15.0-1009.9 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-5.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.0 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.1 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.8 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oracle | 5.15.0-1051.57 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oracle-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-raspi | 5.15.0-1046.49 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-raspi-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-riscv | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-riscv-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-xilinx-zynqmp | 5.15.0-1027.31 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54316 |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 653ed64b01dc5989f8f579d0038e987476c2c023 – before 066fbd8bc981cf49923bf828b7b4092894df577f653ed64b01dc5989f8f579d0038e987476c2c023 – before ec9d118ad99dc6f1bc674c1e649c25533d89b9ba653ed64b01dc5989f8f579d0038e987476c2c023 – before e0322a255a2242dbe4686b6176b3c83dea490529653ed64b01dc5989f8f579d0038e987476c2c023 – before e5de968a9032366198720eac4f368ed7e690b3ef653ed64b01dc5989f8f579d0038e987476c2c023 – before 70a2856fd1d0a040c876ba9e3f89b949ae92e4dd653ed64b01dc5989f8f579d0038e987476c2c023 – before f5063e8948dad7f31adb007284a5d5038ae31bb8 |
| Linux | Linux | 5.9 |
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/066fbd8bc981cf49923bf828b7b4092894df577f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ec9d118ad99dc6f1bc674c1e649c25533d89b9ba
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e0322a255a2242dbe4686b6176b3c83dea490529
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e5de968a9032366198720eac4f368ed7e690b3ef
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/70a2856fd1d0a040c876ba9e3f89b949ae92e4dd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f5063e8948dad7f31adb007284a5d5038ae31bb8