Linux Kernel up to 5.15.110/6.1.27/6.2.14/6.3.1 kernel/softirq.c _rtw_join_timeout_handler deadlock

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as critical has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.110/6.1.27/6.2.14/6.3.1. Affected by this issue is the function _rtw_join_timeout_handler of the file kernel/softirq.c. This manipulation causes deadlock. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2023-53281. There is not any exploit available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.110/6.1.27/6.2.14/6.3.1 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function _rtw_join_timeout_handler of the file kernel/softirq.c. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a deadlock vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-833. The product contains multiple threads or executable segments that are waiting for each other to release a necessary lock, resulting in deadlock. As an impact it is known to affect availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drivers: staging: rtl8723bs: Fix locking in _rtw_join_timeout_handler() Commit 041879b12ddb ("drivers: staging: rtl8192bs: Fix deadlock in rtw_joinbss_event_prehandle()") besides fixing the deadlock also modified _rtw_join_timeout_handler() to use spin_[un]lock_irq() instead of spin_[un]lock_bh(). _rtw_join_timeout_handler() calls rtw_do_join() which takes pmlmepriv->scanned_queue.lock using spin_[un]lock_bh(). This spin_unlock_bh() call re-enables softirqs which triggers an oops in kernel/softirq.c: __local_bh_enable_ip() when it calls lockdep_assert_irqs_enabled(): [ 244.506087] WARNING: CPU: 2 PID: 0 at kernel/softirq.c:376 __local_bh_enable_ip+0xa6/0x100 ... [ 244.509022] Call Trace: [ 244.509048] <IRQ> [ 244.509100] _rtw_join_timeout_handler+0x134/0x170 [r8723bs] [ 244.509468] ? __pfx__rtw_join_timeout_handler+0x10/0x10 [r8723bs] [ 244.509772] ? __pfx__rtw_join_timeout_handler+0x10/0x10 [r8723bs] [ 244.510076] call_timer_fn+0x95/0x2a0 [ 244.510200] __run_timers.part.0+0x1da/0x2d0 This oops is causd by the switch to spin_[un]lock_irq() which disables the IRQs for the entire duration of _rtw_join_timeout_handler(). Disabling the IRQs is not necessary since all code taking this lock runs from either user contexts or from softirqs, switch back to spin_[un]lock_bh() to fix this.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2023-53281 since 09/16/2025. The exploitation appears to be difficult. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 265671 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2023-53281), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.15.111, 6.1.28, 6.2.15 or 6.3.2 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 209850f17717a3b5cc558578bef5631ac7045539/2a50e44a66d268ee5db3d177f1fdc1503dbce6e7/dc327e87c6d9bfd9ee08e76396b3c0ba848ec554/4ab1bace1dd3875371b481ef4301c4671bddea22/215792eda008f6a1e7ed9d77fa20d582d22bb114 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (265671) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2053). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• IBM QRadar SIEM
• SUSE openSUSE
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway
• F5 F5OS

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.15.110
• 6.1.0
• 6.1.1
• 6.1.2
• 6.1.3
• 6.1.4
• 6.1.5
• 6.1.6
• 6.1.7
• 6.1.8
• 6.1.9
• 6.1.10
• 6.1.11
• 6.1.12
• 6.1.13
• 6.1.14
• 6.1.15
• 6.1.16
• 6.1.17
• 6.1.18
• 6.1.19
• 6.1.20
• 6.1.21
• 6.1.22
• 6.1.23
• 6.1.24
• 6.1.25
• 6.1.26
• 6.1.27
• 6.2.0
• 6.2.1
• 6.2.2
• 6.2.3
• 6.2.4
• 6.2.5
• 6.2.6
• 6.2.7
• 6.2.8
• 6.2.9
• 6.2.10
• 6.2.11
• 6.2.12
• 6.2.13
• 6.2.14
• 6.3.0
• 6.3.1

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

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