CVE-2023-53216

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arm64: efi: Make efi_rt_lock a raw_spinlock Running a rt-kernel base on 6.2.0-rc3-rt1 on an Ampere Altra outputs the following: BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at kernel/locking/spinlock_rt.c:46 in_atomic(): 1, irqs_disabled(): 0, non_block: 0, pid: 9, name: kworker/u320:0 preempt_count: 2, expected: 0 RCU nest depth: 0, expected: 0 3 locks held by kworker/u320:0/9: #0: ffff3fff8c27d128 ((wq_completion)efi_rts_wq){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work (./include/linux/atomic/atomic-long.h:41) #1: ffff80000861bdd0 ((work_completion)(&efi_rts_work.work)){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work (./include/linux/atomic/atomic-long.h:41) #2: ffffdf7e1ed3e460 (efi_rt_lock){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: efi_call_rts (drivers/firmware/efi/runtime-wrappers.c:101) Preemption disabled at: efi_virtmap_load (./arch/arm64/include/asm/mmu_context.h:248) CPU: 0 PID: 9 Comm: kworker/u320:0 Tainted: G W 6.2.0-rc3-rt1 Hardware name: WIWYNN Mt.Jade Server System B81.03001.0005/Mt.Jade Motherboard, BIOS 1.08.20220218 (SCP: 1.08.20220218) 2022/02/18 Workqueue: efi_rts_wq efi_call_rts Call trace: dump_backtrace (arch/arm64/kernel/stacktrace.c:158) show_stack (arch/arm64/kernel/stacktrace.c:165) dump_stack_lvl (lib/dump_stack.c:107 (discriminator 4)) dump_stack (lib/dump_stack.c:114) __might_resched (kernel/sched/core.c:10134) rt_spin_lock (kernel/locking/rtmutex.c:1769 (discriminator 4)) efi_call_rts (drivers/firmware/efi/runtime-wrappers.c:101) [...] This seems to come from commit ff7a167961d1 ("arm64: efi: Execute runtime services from a dedicated stack") which adds a spinlock. This spinlock is taken through: efi_call_rts() \-efi_call_virt() \-efi_call_virt_pointer() \-arch_efi_call_virt_setup() Make 'efi_rt_lock' a raw_spinlock to avoid being preempted. [ardb: The EFI runtime services are called with a different set of translation tables, and are permitted to use the SIMD registers. The context switch code preserves/restores neither, and so EFI calls must be made with preemption disabled, rather than only disabling migration.]

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-09-15
Last modified 2026-01-14
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

7.8

out of 10
High
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 5.10.165, 5.15.90, 6.1.8, 6.2 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.10.175, 5.15.103, 6.1.18, 6.2.5, 6.3 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 5.10.165 ≥ 5.15.90 ≥ 6.1.8 ≥ 6.2
Fixed in
✓ 5.10.175 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.103 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.18 6.1.x ✓ 6.2.5 6.2.x ✓ 6.3

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2023-53216 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2023-53216?

    CVE-2023-53216 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.10.165 onward and has been patched in 5.10.175, 5.15.103, 6.1.18 and others. CVE-2023-53216 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-53216?

    CVE-2023-53216 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H .

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2023-53216?

    Yes — CVE-2023-53216 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.175, 5.15.103, 6.1.18 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.10.165 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2023-53216 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2023-53216 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.