What is CVE-2023-52668?

CVE-2023-52668 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, classified as a Improper Locking flaw (CWE-667), affecting Linux kernel versions from 6.6 onward and patched in 6.6.15, 6.7.3 and 6.8. CVE-2023-52668 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-52668?

CVE-2023-52668 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2023-52668?

Yes, CVE-2023-52668 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.6.15, 6.7.3 and 6.8. If you are running Linux kernel 6.6 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2023-52668 actively exploited?

CVE-2023-52668 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is Improper Locking (CWE-667)?

The product does not properly acquire or release a lock, which can lead to unexpected behaviour. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/667.html

CVE-2023-52668

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: zoned: fix lock ordering in btrfs_zone_activate() The btrfs CI reported a lockdep warning as follows by running generic generic/129. WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected 6.7.0-rc5+ #1 Not tainted ------------------------------------------------------ kworker/u5:5/793427 is trying to acquire lock: ffff88813256d028 (&cache->lock){+.+.}-{2:2}, at: btrfs_zone_finish_one_bg+0x5e/0x130 but task is already holding lock: ffff88810a23a318 (&fs_info->zone_active_bgs_lock){+.+.}-{2:2}, at: btrfs_zone_finish_one_bg+0x34/0x130 which lock already depends on the new lock. the existing dependency chain (in reverse order) is: -> #1 (&fs_info->zone_active_bgs_lock){+.+.}-{2:2}: ... -> #0 (&cache->lock){+.+.}-{2:2}: ... This is because we take fs_info->zone_active_bgs_lock after a block_group's lock in btrfs_zone_activate() while doing the opposite in other places. Fix the issue by expanding the fs_info->zone_active_bgs_lock's critical section and taking it before a block_group's lock.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2024-05-17

Last modified 2025-09-19

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10

Medium

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Vector string

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

Weakness type

CWE-667

CVE-2023-52668 is a Improper Locking vulnerability

What is Improper Locking?

The product does not properly acquire or release a lock, which can lead to unexpected behaviour. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.6 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.6.15, 6.7.3, 6.8 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 6.6

Fixed in

✓ 6.6.15 6.6.x ✓ 6.7.3 6.7.x ✓ 6.8

References

3 total

Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1908e9d01e5395adff68d9d308a0fb15337e6272

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6f74989f5909cdec9b1274641f0fa306b15bb476

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b18f3b60b35a8c01c9a2a0f0d6424c6d73971dc3

Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2023-52668

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2024-05-17

Modified 2025-09-19

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-52668?

CVE-2023-52668 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as an Improper Locking flaw (CWE-667) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.6 onward and has been patched in 6.6.15, 6.7.3 and 6.8. CVE-2023-52668 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-52668?

CVE-2023-52668 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2023-52668?

Yes. CVE-2023-52668 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.6.15, 6.7.3 and 6.8. If you are running Linux kernel 6.6 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2023-52668 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2023-52668 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.