CVE-2023-53329 [Medium] | Security Vulnerability in Linux Kernel

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: workqueue: fix data race with the pwq->stats[] increment KCSAN has discovered a data race in kernel/workqueue.c:2598: [ 1863.554079] ================================================================== [ 1863.554118] BUG: KCSAN: data-race in process_one_work / process_one_work [ 1863.554142] write to 0xffff963d99d79998 of 8 bytes by task 5394 on cpu 27: [ 1863.554154] process_one_work (kernel/workqueue.c:2598) [ 1863.554166] worker_thread (./include/linux/list.h:292 kernel/workqueue.c:2752) [ 1863.554177] kthread (kernel/kthread.c:389) [ 1863.554186] ret_from_fork (arch/x86/kernel/process.c:145) [ 1863.554197] ret_from_fork_asm (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:312) [ 1863.554213] read to 0xffff963d99d79998 of 8 bytes by task 5450 on cpu 12: [ 1863.554224] process_one_work (kernel/workqueue.c:2598) [ 1863.554235] worker_thread (./include/linux/list.h:292 kernel/workqueue.c:2752) [ 1863.554247] kthread (kernel/kthread.c:389) [ 1863.554255] ret_from_fork (arch/x86/kernel/process.c:145) [ 1863.554266] ret_from_fork_asm (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:312) [ 1863.554280] value changed: 0x0000000000001766 -> 0x000000000000176a [ 1863.554295] Reported by Kernel Concurrency Sanitizer on: [ 1863.554303] CPU: 12 PID: 5450 Comm: kworker/u64:1 Tainted: G L 6.5.0-rc6+ #44 [ 1863.554314] Hardware name: ASRock X670E PG Lightning/X670E PG Lightning, BIOS 1.21 04/26/2023 [ 1863.554322] Workqueue: btrfs-endio btrfs_end_bio_work [btrfs] [ 1863.554941] ================================================================== lockdep_invariant_state(true); → pwq->stats[PWQ_STAT_STARTED]++; trace_workqueue_execute_start(work); worker->current_func(work); Moving pwq->stats[PWQ_STAT_STARTED]++; before the line raw_spin_unlock_irq(&pool->lock); resolves the data race without performance penalty. KCSAN detected at least one additional data race: [ 157.834751] ================================================================== [ 157.834770] BUG: KCSAN: data-race in process_one_work / process_one_work [ 157.834793] write to 0xffff9934453f77a0 of 8 bytes by task 468 on cpu 29: [ 157.834804] process_one_work (/home/marvin/linux/kernel/linux_torvalds/kernel/workqueue.c:2606) [ 157.834815] worker_thread (/home/marvin/linux/kernel/linux_torvalds/./include/linux/list.h:292 /home/marvin/linux/kernel/linux_torvalds/kernel/workqueue.c:2752) [ 157.834826] kthread (/home/marvin/linux/kernel/linux_torvalds/kernel/kthread.c:389) [ 157.834834] ret_from_fork (/home/marvin/linux/kernel/linux_torvalds/arch/x86/kernel/process.c:145) [ 157.834845] ret_from_fork_asm (/home/marvin/linux/kernel/linux_torvalds/arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:312) [ 157.834859] read to 0xffff9934453f77a0 of 8 bytes by task 214 on cpu 7: [ 157.834868] process_one_work (/home/marvin/linux/kernel/linux_torvalds/kernel/workqueue.c:2606) [ 157.834879] worker_thread (/home/marvin/linux/kernel/linux_torvalds/./include/linux/list.h:292 /home/marvin/linux/kernel/linux_torvalds/kernel/workqueue.c:2752) [ 157.834890] kthread (/home/marvin/linux/kernel/linux_torvalds/kernel/kthread.c:389) [ 157.834897] ret_from_fork (/home/marvin/linux/kernel/linux_torvalds/arch/x86/kernel/process.c:145) [ 157.834907] ret_from_fork_asm (/home/marvin/linux/kernel/linux_torvalds/arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:312) [ 157.834920] value changed: 0x000000000000052a -> 0x0000000000000532 [ 157.834933] Reported by Kernel Concurrency Sanitizer on: [ 157.834941] CPU: 7 PID: 214 Comm: kworker/u64:2 Tainted: G L 6.5.0-rc7-kcsan-00169-g81eaf55a60fc #4 [ 157.834951] Hardware name: ASRock X670E PG Lightning/X670E PG Lightning, BIOS 1.21 04/26/2023 [ 157.834958] Workqueue: btrfs-endio btrfs_end_bio_work [btrfs] [ 157.835567] ================================================================== in code: trace_workqueue_execute_end(work, worker->current_func); → pwq->stats[PWQ_STAT_COM ---truncated---

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2025-09-17	—	0.02%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2025-09-17

—

0.02%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
4.7	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:H) Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:N) Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way. Integrity (I:N) Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.0	3.6	[email protected]
4.7	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:H) Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:N) Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way. Integrity (I:N) Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.0	3.6	134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

4.7

3.1

MEDIUM

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

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H): Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N): Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N): Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.0

3.6

[email protected]

4.7

3.1

MEDIUM

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

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H): Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N): Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N): Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.0

3.6

134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-53329

vendor	priority	summary	link
`debian`	unimportant	CVE-2023-53329 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5.	https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-53329
`redhat`	medium	—	https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53329
`suse`	medium	CVE-2023-53329 severity moderate: SUSE including 26 source package names (cluster-md-kmp-default, dlm-kmp-default, …), 276 product×package rows across 54 product lines (SLES-LTSS-TERADATA 15 SP2, SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7, … (54 product lines)): Known Not Affected 276.	https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53329/
`ubuntu`	medium	CVE-2023-53329 medium priority: Ubuntu including 150 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1350 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 969, ignored 159, not-affected 142, released 80.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-53329

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-53329

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
linux	linux_kernel	>= 6.5, < 6.5.3	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::

References for CVE-2023-53329

URL	Tags
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ce55024f28589b0012fa2c6b5748ec5a180b7fbe	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fe48ba7daefe75bbbefa2426deddc05f2d530d2d	Patch

URL

CVE-2023-53329 | workqueue: fix data race with the pwq->stats[] increment

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-53329

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-53329

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-53329

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-53329

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-53329

References for CVE-2023-53329