CVE-2023-53731 | netlink: fix potential deadlock in netlink_set_err()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netlink: fix potential deadlock in netlink_set_err() syzbot reported a possible deadlock in netlink_set_err() [1] A similar issue was fixed in commit 1d482e666b8e ("netlink: disable IRQs for netlink_lock_table()") in netlink_lock_table() This patch adds IRQ safety to netlink_set_err() and __netlink_diag_dump() which were not covered by cited commit. [1] WARNING: possible irq lock inversion dependency detected 6.4.0-rc6-syzkaller-00240-g4e9f0ec38852 #0 Not tainted syz-executor.2/23011 just changed the state of lock: ffffffff8e1a7a58 (nl_table_lock){.+.?}-{2:2}, at: netlink_set_err+0x2e/0x3a0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1612 but this lock was taken by another, SOFTIRQ-safe lock in the past: (&local->queue_stop_reason_lock){..-.}-{2:2} and interrupts could create inverse lock ordering between them. other info that might help us debug this: Possible interrupt unsafe locking scenario: CPU0 CPU1 ---- ---- lock(nl_table_lock); local_irq_disable(); lock(&local->queue_stop_reason_lock); lock(nl_table_lock); <Interrupt> lock(&local->queue_stop_reason_lock); *** DEADLOCK ***

Published: 2025-10-22 Last update: 2026-04-15 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-53731 is rated Low Risk (19.2/100): low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.06%). Mandatory action: Low composite risk—no urgent action required; patch on your normal maintenance cycle and revisit priority if CVSS or EPSS increases.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-53731

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-04-01 0.04% 0.06% +0.02%
2 2026-03-20 0.06% 0.04% -0.02%
3 2026-02-21 0.06%

Full EPSS history (4 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-53731

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

No CVSS data in dataset for this CVE.

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-53731

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-53731

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-53731 not yet assigned 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-2023-53731
redhat low https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53731
suse medium CVE-2023-53731 severity moderate: SUSE including 398 source package names (2.1.3-6.88:kernel-default-base-6.4.0-36.1.21.13, 2.1.3-7.105:kernel-rt-6.4.0-38.1, …), 767 product×package rows across 165 product lines (Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container, Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/kvm-os-container, … (165 product lines)): Fixed 442, Known Affected 231, Known Not Affected 94. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53731/
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-53731 medium priority: Ubuntu including 157 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1405 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1010, ignored 160, released 135, not-affected 84, needed 15, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-53731

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-53731

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
No affected products in dataset.

References for CVE-2023-53731

cvelogic Threat Intelligence