Linux Kernel up to 6.5.2 audit __audit_inode_child denial of service

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4.6	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in Linux Kernel up to 6.5.2. Affected by this vulnerability is the function __audit_inode_child of the component audit. The manipulation leads to denial of service. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2023-54045. No exploit exists. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.5.2. This issue affects the function __audit_inode_child of the component audit. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a denial of service vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-404. The product does not release or incorrectly releases a resource before it is made available for re-use. Impacted is availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: audit: fix possible soft lockup in __audit_inode_child() Tracefs or debugfs maybe cause hundreds to thousands of PATH records, too many PATH records maybe cause soft lockup. For example: 1. CONFIG_KASAN=y && CONFIG_PREEMPTION=n 2. auditctl -a exit,always -S open -k key 3. sysctl -w kernel.watchdog_thresh=5 4. mkdir /sys/kernel/debug/tracing/instances/test There may be a soft lockup as follows: watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#45 stuck for 7s! [mkdir:15498] Kernel panic - not syncing: softlockup: hung tasks Call trace: dump_backtrace+0x0/0x30c show_stack+0x20/0x30 dump_stack+0x11c/0x174 panic+0x27c/0x494 watchdog_timer_fn+0x2bc/0x390 __run_hrtimer+0x148/0x4fc __hrtimer_run_queues+0x154/0x210 hrtimer_interrupt+0x2c4/0x760 arch_timer_handler_phys+0x48/0x60 handle_percpu_devid_irq+0xe0/0x340 __handle_domain_irq+0xbc/0x130 gic_handle_irq+0x78/0x460 el1_irq+0xb8/0x140 __audit_inode_child+0x240/0x7bc tracefs_create_file+0x1b8/0x2a0 trace_create_file+0x18/0x50 event_create_dir+0x204/0x30c __trace_add_new_event+0xac/0x100 event_trace_add_tracer+0xa0/0x130 trace_array_create_dir+0x60/0x140 trace_array_create+0x1e0/0x370 instance_mkdir+0x90/0xd0 tracefs_syscall_mkdir+0x68/0xa0 vfs_mkdir+0x21c/0x34c do_mkdirat+0x1b4/0x1d4 __arm64_sys_mkdirat+0x4c/0x60 el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0xa8/0x240 do_el0_svc+0x8c/0xc0 el0_svc+0x20/0x30 el0_sync_handler+0xb0/0xb4 el0_sync+0x160/0x180 Therefore, we add cond_resched() to __audit_inode_child() to fix it.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2023-54045 since 12/24/2025. The exploitation is known to be difficult. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 279891 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2023-54045), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 4.14.326, 4.19.295, 5.4.257, 5.10.195, 5.15.132, 6.1.53, 6.4.16 or 6.5.3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch d061e2bfc20f2914656385816e0d20566213c54c/1640c7bd4eddec6c72f3a99cbb74e333a2ce9f5d/f6364fa751d7486502c777f124a14d4d543fc5eb/98ef243d5900d75a64539a2165745bffbb155d43/0152e7758cc4e9f8bfba8dbea4438d8e488d6c08/9ca08adb75fb40a8f742c371927ee73f9dc753bf/8a40b491372966ba5426e138a53460985565d5a6/8e76b944a7b9bddef190ffe2e29c9ae342ab91ed/b59bc6e37237e37eadf50cd5de369e913f524463 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 (279891) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2929). If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Affected

• Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 4.14.325
• 4.19.294
• 5.4.256
• 5.10.194
• 5.15.131
• 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
• 6.1.28
• 6.1.29
• 6.1.30
• 6.1.31
• 6.1.32
• 6.1.33
• 6.1.34
• 6.1.35
• 6.1.36
• 6.1.37
• 6.1.38
• 6.1.39
• 6.1.40
• 6.1.41
• 6.1.42
• 6.1.43
• 6.1.44
• 6.1.45
• 6.1.46
• 6.1.47
• 6.1.48
• 6.1.49
• 6.1.50
• 6.1.51
• 6.1.52
• 6.4.0
• 6.4.1
• 6.4.2
• 6.4.3
• 6.4.4
• 6.4.5
• 6.4.6
• 6.4.7
• 6.4.8
• 6.4.9
• 6.4.10
• 6.4.11
• 6.4.12
• 6.4.13
• 6.4.14
• 6.4.15
• 6.5.0
• 6.5.1
• 6.5.2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 4.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.6

VulDB Base Score: 4.8
VulDB Temp Score: 4.6
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Denial of service
CWE: CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Nessus ID: 279891
Nessus Name: Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2023-54045

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 4.14.326/4.19.295/5.4.257/5.10.195/5.15.132/6.1.53/6.4.16/6.5.3
Patch: d061e2bfc20f2914656385816e0d20566213c54c/1640c7bd4eddec6c72f3a99cbb74e333a2ce9f5d/f6364fa751d7486502c777f124a14d4d543fc5eb/98ef243d5900d75a64539a2165745bffbb155d43/0152e7758cc4e9f8bfba8dbea4438d8e488d6c08/9ca08adb75fb40a8f742c371927ee73f9dc753bf/8a40b491372966ba5426e138a53460985565d5a6/8e76b944a7b9bddef190ffe2e29c9ae342ab91ed/b59bc6e37237e37eadf50cd5de369e913f524463

Timelineinfo

12/24/2025 Advisory disclosed
12/24/2025 +0 days CVE reserved
12/24/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
12/30/2025 +6 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2023-54045 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2023-54045
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-337997
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-2929 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Entryinfo

Created: 12/24/2025 14:29
Updated: 12/30/2025 04:00
Changes: 12/24/2025 14:29 (59), 12/26/2025 18:27 (2), 12/30/2025 04:00 (7)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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Discussion

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