CVE-2023-53857
Vulnerability Scoring
Status: Awaiting Analysis
Published on: 09 Dec 2025, 16:17 UTC
CVSS Release:
CVE-2023-53857: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: bpf_sk_storage: Fix invalid wait context lockdep report './test_progs -t test_local_storage' reported a splat: [ 27.137569] ============================= [ 27.138122] [ BUG: Invalid wait context ] [ 27.138650] 6.5.0-03980-gd11ae1b16b0a #247 Tainted: G O [ 27.139542] ----------------------------- [ 27.140106] test_progs/1729 is trying to lock: [ 27.140713] ffff8883ef047b88 (stock_lock){-.-.}-{3:3}, at: local_lock_acquire+0x9/0x130 [ 27.141834] other info that might help us debug this: [ 27.142437] context-{5:5} [ 27.142856] 2 locks held by test_progs/1729: [ 27.143352] #0: ffffffff84bcd9c0 (rcu_read_lock){....}-{1:3}, at: rcu_lock_acquire+0x4/0x40 [ 27.144492] #1: ffff888107deb2c0 (&storage->lock){..-.}-{2:2}, at: bpf_local_storage_update+0x39e/0x8e0 [ 27.145855] stack backtrace: [ 27.146274] CPU: 0 PID: 1729 Comm: test_progs Tainted: G O 6.5.0-03980-gd11ae1b16b0a #247 [ 27.147550] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.14.0-0-g155821a1990b-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 [ 27.149127] Call Trace: [ 27.149490] <TASK> [ 27.149867] dump_stack_lvl+0x130/0x1d0 [ 27.152609] dump_stack+0x14/0x20 [ 27.153131] __lock_acquire+0x1657/0x2220 [ 27.153677] lock_acquire+0x1b8/0x510 [ 27.157908] local_lock_acquire+0x29/0x130 [ 27.159048] obj_cgroup_charge+0xf4/0x3c0 [ 27.160794] slab_pre_alloc_hook+0x28e/0x2b0 [ 27.161931] __kmem_cache_alloc_node+0x51/0x210 [ 27.163557] __kmalloc+0xaa/0x210 [ 27.164593] bpf_map_kzalloc+0xbc/0x170 [ 27.165147] bpf_selem_alloc+0x130/0x510 [ 27.166295] bpf_local_storage_update+0x5aa/0x8e0 [ 27.167042] bpf_fd_sk_storage_update_elem+0xdb/0x1a0 [ 27.169199] bpf_map_update_value+0x415/0x4f0 [ 27.169871] map_update_elem+0x413/0x550 [ 27.170330] __sys_bpf+0x5e9/0x640 [ 27.174065] __x64_sys_bpf+0x80/0x90 [ 27.174568] do_syscall_64+0x48/0xa0 [ 27.175201] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0xd8 [ 27.175932] RIP: 0033:0x7effb40e41ad [ 27.176357] Code: ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 90 f3 0f 1e fa 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 8b 0d8 [ 27.179028] RSP: 002b:00007ffe64c21fc8 EFLAGS: 00000202 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000141 [ 27.180088] RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007ffe64c22768 RCX: 00007effb40e41ad [ 27.181082] RDX: 0000000000000020 RSI: 00007ffe64c22008 RDI: 0000000000000002 [ 27.182030] RBP: 00007ffe64c21ff0 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 00007ffe64c22788 [ 27.183038] R10: 0000000000000064 R11: 0000000000000202 R12: 0000000000000000 [ 27.184006] R13: 00007ffe64c22788 R14: 00007effb42a1000 R15: 0000000000000000 [ 27.184958] </TASK> It complains about acquiring a local_lock while holding a raw_spin_lock. It means it should not allocate memory while holding a raw_spin_lock since it is not safe for RT. raw_spin_lock is needed because bpf_local_storage supports tracing context. In particular for task local storage, it is easy to get a "current" task PTR_TO_BTF_ID in tracing bpf prog. However, task (and cgroup) local storage has already been moved to bpf mem allocator which can be used after raw_spin_lock. The splat is for the sk storage. For sk (and inode) storage, it has not been moved to bpf mem allocator. Using raw_spin_lock or not, kzalloc(GFP_ATOMIC) could theoretically be unsafe in tracing context. However, the local storage helper requires a verifier accepted sk pointer (PTR_TO_BTF_ID), it is hypothetical if that (mean running a bpf prog in a kzalloc unsafe context and also able to hold a verifier accepted sk pointer) could happen. This patch avoids kzalloc after raw_spin_lock to silent the splat. There is an existing kzalloc before the raw_spin_lock. At that point, a kzalloc is very likely required because a lookup has just been done before. Thus, this patch always does the kzalloc before acq ---truncated---
The exploitability of CVE-2023-53857 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
No exploitability data is available for CVE-2023-53857.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2023-53857, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2023-53857, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
Unknown
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