CVE-2023-53461: linux kernel — Fix

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: io_uring: wait interruptibly for request completions on exit WHen the ring exits, cleanup is done and the final cancelation and waiting on completions is done by io_ring_exit_work. That function is invoked by kworker, which doesn't take any signals. Because of that, it doesn't really matter if we wait for completions in TASK_INTERRUPTIBLE or TASK_UNINTERRUPTIBLE state. However, it does matter to the hung task detection checker! Normally we expect cancelations and completions to happen rather quickly. Some test cases, however, will exit the ring and park the owning task stopped (eg via SIGSTOP). If the owning task needs to run task_work to complete requests, then io_ring_exit_work won't make any progress until the task is runnable again. Hence io_ring_exit_work can trigger the hung task detection, which is particularly problematic if panic-on-hung-task is enabled. As the ring exit doesn't take signals to begin with, have it wait interruptibly rather than uninterruptibly. io_uring has a separate stuck-exit warning that triggers independently anyway, so we're not really missing anything by making this switch.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.5

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
linux	linux_kernel	5.1 — 5.10.188
linux	linux_kernel	5.11 — 5.15.121
linux	linux_kernel	5.16 — 6.1.39
linux	linux_kernel	6.2 — 6.4.4

References

Advisories & Patches

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/28e649dc9947e6525c95e32aa9a8e147925e3f56 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4826c59453b3b4677d6bf72814e7ababdea86949 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/58e80cb68b057e974768792c34708c6957810486 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8e29835366138389bfad3b31ea06960d0a77bf77 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b50d6e06cca7b67a3d73ca660dda27662b76e6ea

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-53461? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: io_uring: wait interruptibly for request completions on exit WHen the ring exits, cleanup is done and the final cancelation and waiting on completions is done by io_ring_exit_work. That function is invoked by kworker, which doesn't take any signals. Because of that, it doesn't really matter if we wait for completions in TASK_INTERRUPTIBLE or TASK_UNINTERRUPTIBLE state. However, it does matter to the hung task detection checker! Normally we expect cancelations and completions to happen rather quickly. Some test cases, however, will exit the ring and park the owning task stopped (eg via SIGSTOP). If the owning task needs to run task_work to complete requests, then io_ring_exit_work won't make any progress until the task is runnable again. Hence io_ring_exit_work can trigger the hung task detection, which is particularly problematic if panic-on-hung-task is enabled. As the ring exit doesn't take signals to begin with, have it wait interruptibly rather than uninterruptibly. io_uring has a separate stuck-exit warning that triggers independently anyway, so we're not really missing anything by making this switch. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2023-53461? +

CVE-2023-53461 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2023-53461? +

CVE-2023-53461 affects products from linux, specifically: linux_kernel. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2023-53461? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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CVE-2023-53461