What is CVE-2023-53558?

CVE-2023-53558 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 5.17 onward and patched in 6.1.42, 6.4.7 and 6.5. CVE-2023-53558 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-53558?

CVE-2023-53558 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-2023-53558?

Yes, CVE-2023-53558 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.1.42, 6.4.7 and 6.5. If you are running Linux kernel 5.17 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2023-53558 actively exploited?

CVE-2023-53558 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2023-53558

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: rcu-tasks: Avoid pr_info() with spin lock in cblist_init_generic() pr_info() is called with rtp->cbs_gbl_lock spin lock locked. Because pr_info() calls printk() that might sleep, this will result in BUG like below: [ 0.206455] cblist_init_generic: Setting adjustable number of callback queues. [ 0.206463] [ 0.206464] ============================= [ 0.206464] [ BUG: Invalid wait context ] [ 0.206465] 5.19.0-00428-g9de1f9c8ca51 #5 Not tainted [ 0.206466] ----------------------------- [ 0.206466] swapper/0/1 is trying to lock: [ 0.206467] ffffffffa0167a58 (&port_lock_key){....}-{3:3}, at: serial8250_console_write+0x327/0x4a0 [ 0.206473] other info that might help us debug this: [ 0.206473] context-{5:5} [ 0.206474] 3 locks held by swapper/0/1: [ 0.206474] #0: ffffffff9eb597e0 (rcu_tasks.cbs_gbl_lock){....}-{2:2}, at: cblist_init_generic.constprop.0+0x14/0x1f0 [ 0.206478] #1: ffffffff9eb579c0 (console_lock){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: _printk+0x63/0x7e [ 0.206482] #2: ffffffff9ea77780 (console_owner){....}-{0:0}, at: console_emit_next_record.constprop.0+0x111/0x330 [ 0.206485] stack backtrace: [ 0.206486] CPU: 0 PID: 1 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 5.19.0-00428-g9de1f9c8ca51 #5 [ 0.206488] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.0-1.fc36 04/01/2014 [ 0.206489] Call Trace: [ 0.206490] <TASK> [ 0.206491] dump_stack_lvl+0x6a/0x9f [ 0.206493] __lock_acquire.cold+0x2d7/0x2fe [ 0.206496] ? stack_trace_save+0x46/0x70 [ 0.206497] lock_acquire+0xd1/0x2f0 [ 0.206499] ? serial8250_console_write+0x327/0x4a0 [ 0.206500] ? __lock_acquire+0x5c7/0x2720 [ 0.206502] _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x3d/0x90 [ 0.206504] ? serial8250_console_write+0x327/0x4a0 [ 0.206506] serial8250_console_write+0x327/0x4a0 [ 0.206508] console_emit_next_record.constprop.0+0x180/0x330 [ 0.206511] console_unlock+0xf7/0x1f0 [ 0.206512] vprintk_emit+0xf7/0x330 [ 0.206514] _printk+0x63/0x7e [ 0.206516] cblist_init_generic.constprop.0.cold+0x24/0x32 [ 0.206518] rcu_init_tasks_generic+0x5/0xd9 [ 0.206522] kernel_init_freeable+0x15b/0x2a2 [ 0.206523] ? rest_init+0x160/0x160 [ 0.206526] kernel_init+0x11/0x120 [ 0.206527] ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30 [ 0.206530] </TASK> [ 0.207018] cblist_init_generic: Setting shift to 1 and lim to 1. This patch moves pr_info() so that it is called without rtp->cbs_gbl_lock locked.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2025-10-04

Last modified 2026-03-21

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

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 5.17 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.1.42, 6.4.7, 6.5 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 5.17

Fixed in

✓ 6.1.42 6.1.x ✓ 6.4.7 6.4.x ✓ 6.5

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2023-53558 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5fc8cbe4cf0fd34ded8045c385790c3bf04f6785
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9027d69221ff96e1356f070f7feb2ff989ae7388
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ea9b81c7d9104040b46a84d2303045de267f5557
Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2023-53558

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2025-10-04

Modified 2026-03-21

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-53558?

CVE-2023-53558 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.17 onward and has been patched in 6.1.42, 6.4.7 and 6.5. CVE-2023-53558 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-53558?

CVE-2023-53558 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-2023-53558?

Yes — CVE-2023-53558 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.1.42, 6.4.7 and 6.5. If you are running Linux kernel 5.17 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2023-53558 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2023-53558 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.